I Won't Leave You
by lucy.buchanan
Summary: Grant and Ashley have been best friends since sixth grade, when he ran into her during band and caused her flute to break. They'll do anything for each other, and, when the disease that causes everyone to turn into living dead, human-eating corpses breaks out, they escape their town together. While on the run the two find a group run by a man named Rick, and they join his ranks.
1. Prolouge

**Prologue**

_As Grant Taylor walked into the band room on his second day of sixth grade, he nervously strode past a few girls that were giggling and glancing around them. They were putting together their clarinets as they gossiped and Grant stared at the old carpet on the ground as he ambled past them. He continued traveling up the wide stairs that lead to the back of the room, where his chair for class and his instrument were. _

_ At the doorway of the woodwind room (which was where the stairs started) Grant started to sprint up towards the low brass room, but he collided with someone very petite and fell backwards, landing on his behind hard. He felt his face burn as he gathered his books up from the ground, too shy to say sorry or look at the person he'd bumped into. Just as he stood up a hand clamped around his forearm. _

_ "Oh my gosh, are you okay? I didn't even see you," it was a girl's voice, and she sounded sincere. Grant glanced up into the hazel eyes of a petite girl with short dark hair and a worried crease on her forehead as she looked at him. His heart skipped a few beats and he felt more tongue-tied than usual. "Are you okay?" _

_ "Yeah, it was my fault." He uttered. The girl didn't let go of his arm though, and she gave him a small smile. Suddenly he felt very warm and was able to take in everything about her. She was wearing dark wash jeans that hugged her hips and thighs and were tucked into fuzzy grey boots. She had a yellow sweater on over a white tank top. She had a slim face with cheekbones that stood out proudly and full lips stretched over blue braces. She was _very _pretty. _

_ "I'm Ashley Way," she introduced herself, smiling, as she clutched her flute case to her chest. Her voice was melodic, just like her playing in class. Grant had heard in the hallway that she was a singer and had been the star of her fifth grade play, a pretty big accomplishment. "You play the tuba, right?" _

_ "Yeah, I'm Grant," he grinned sheepishly at her, glancing back down at the floor. He was embarrassed about running into her but he liked the attention that she was showing him. _

_ "Well, it was nice meeting you Grant. I should probably go sit down or Mr. Horton will get mad. I'll see you in the hallway," Ashley smiled at him again and moved down to her chair, immediately being engulfed into a conversation with three male saxophone players who all looked like they had a crush on her. In a daze Grant went to go get his tuba and warm up for class, all the while thinking about the warm smiles that Ashley had thrown at him and how she'd asked if he was okay like she really cared. Maybe he'd try to get know her over the year. _

**_XXX_**

Grant picked Ashley up and threw her over his shoulder as he paraded into the band room at their high school, earning reproachful glares from girls that had crushes on him and guys that liked Ashley and laughs from their friends. Ashley squeaked and hit Grant's back to try and get him to put her down, but he was strong and refused to let her feet touch to ground. Their conductor shook her head and continued looking over her music with a faint smile.

"Let me down!" Ashley laughed, holding on to Grant's waist tightly.

"Should I let her down?" he asked the row of trumpets, all of whom were boys that liked Ashley (almost every guy in the school liked her). They all shook their heads with large grins.

"No, I've got a great view of her ass." One jeered, making the others laugh. A clarinet player that was a good friend of Ashley's gave them a disapproving look before turning back and flicking through her music.

"Seriously Grant, all the blood is rushing to my head!" Ashley shouted, hitting his muscular back again. He chuckled and quickly went into the woodwind instrument room, setting her down next to a rack full of cases. She shook her head and blinked a few times, her red face making him grin. When she regained her senses, Ashley pushed him and crossed her arms over her chest, mocking anger.

She lowered her eyebrows at him. "Why'd you feel the need to do that?"

"Why not?"

"Grant Taylor, one of these days I'm going to actually get mad at you and stop being your friend,"

"You couldn't do that," Grant murmured as their band teacher whistled for everyone to take their seats. Ashley turned and stood on her tip-toes, trying to get her flute case, but she found that she couldn't reach it because it was on the highest part of the rack-one of her friend's doing, she guessed. Grant stretched around her and grabbed it, holding it over her head.

"And why's that?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow competitively and smirking. He was one of the only people that brought out the wicked side of Ashley, the side that would tackle you and offer things that made most guys' heads spin with ideas to get her way. But Grant had known her too long and knew her too well to be tricked.

"Because you love me," he said simply. Leaning down and kissing her cheek, Grant zipped out of the woodwind room and sprinted up to his instrument room, leaving Ashley blushing and smiling. She shook her head and walked out to take her spot as first chair flute. Somehow he always got his way by flashing his adorable dimples and staring at her with his light green eyes that twinkled pleasantly. Grant would wriggle his button nose and give Ashley a crooked grin that complimented his hard jawline that made girls swoon.

She and Grant had been best friends since sixth grade when he ran into her and caused her to break her flute from falling on it. Now, as sixteen year olds, they were the favorite to become a couple and they were practically inseparable. When making their schedules for the school year they'd worked it so that they had every class but one together (Grant refused to take chorus with Ashley) and they'd gotten lucky enough to get lockers beside each other.

Ashley was still the nicest girl in the school and the one that everyone went to for cheering up. Her hair had grown out and now cascaded over her shoulders and to the middle of her back. Her hazel eyes were still the same and she'd gotten her braces off in seventh grade, and both of those features still made Grant's heart skip a beat when he saw her. He had grown out of his awkward phase and was what most girls in their little town called a 'bad-boy', but in reality he was straight A student that had never gotten a detention. He had a very athletic build from being on the wrestling team and the archery team and caught many of the girls' eyes with his handsome face and easy way.

Grant had gotten his driver's license over the summer and drove Ashley to school every morning, making people spread rumors about their relationship. In the small town that they lived in it was impossible to be friends with anyone of the opposite gender without speculation about what you really did when you hung out, but Ashley and Grant were only friends. Grant was teaching Ashley how to accurately use a bow for target shooting (she refused to hunt) and they both loved to hike. When they were together neither of them felt like they had to hide anything.

They sometimes acted like they were dating-like Grant kissing Ashley on the cheek-but neither of them considered that the other could have any feelings for them. They'd both had dreams or fantasies about the other but had brushed them off, thinking that they would ruin their amazing friendship if they dated. They went to the school dances together so that they'd always have a date, but neither Grant nor Ashley considered it a _real_ date.

As Ashley held her flute up to her mouth and sounded the first note that their conductor had asked for, she turned around to glance at Grant quickly. He had his eyes trained on his music but saw her swinging curls and glanced up, winking at her as he played. She grinned, causing her note to be thrown into a higher octave, and turned back around to read her music.

**_XXX_**

"How's your brother been feeling?" Grant asked as he kept his eyes trained on the road ahead of him. Ashley shrugged, staring at her phone, and bit her lip.

"Not well, my mom just sent me a text that he's got another really high temperature. He hasn't been able to go back college for about a week because he feels so bad…I don't know what's going on but I'm worried about him."

"He'll be alright," Grant reassured her, scooping her small hand up in his large one and holding it tightly. "The doctors have checked him out, right?"

"Yeah, and they've got no idea what's going on." She sighed and pushed her hair out of her face as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I've got him to worry about and Ralph hasn't been feeling any better either, Janet is still as depressed as ever, Kelly hasn't gotten over her break up, Hanley is-"

Grant interrupted her. "You need to stop worrying about everyone, Ash. It's gonna kill you,"

"But they all came to me for help," she explained, leaning against Grant's arm and closing her eyes.

"They'll be alright without your help-you're overwhelmed. Can I come in and say hi to your brother?"

"He looks terrible; it'd just kill your spirit to see him. How about we go to the beach real quick?"

They lived in North Carolina and, because it was December, the beaches were usually deserted. Ashley and Grant were both wearing warm jackets and long pants so they'd be comfortable enough in the cold. Their houses were three miles from the beach so they could go there and walk around and get home before it got dark and their parents started to worry. Grant nodded and altered his route from their neighborhood towards the icy beach that he and Ashley went to for unwinding and quality time.

The drive was a dull one: large houses that all looked the same with a huge expanse of yard leading out towards the road. The sky was grey and ominous, with dark swirling clouds that looked full of rain. No one was outside of their house, which was unusual because kids usually flocked to the farms to run around and play. Ashley hummed a tune that went with the newest song she was learning in chorus absentmindedly under her breath as Grant drove. Silence stretched between the two, but it was comfortable. They didn't need to talk to get each other.

Grant pulled into the vacant parking lot of an abandoned restaurant that was near the shore of the ocean and climbed out of his car, going around quickly and opening Ashley's door for her. Her worried expression evaporated and she tucked her phone into the pocket of her The North Face jacket, deciding not to worry about anyone for the time she would be able to share with Grant in seclusion.

Cold salty spray and harsh wind beat the two as they strolled on the sand and chatted about school and what home was like. Grant hadn't been able to see Ashley's brother for three weeks, the time that he'd come home sick, and he missed him; they were good friends because Grant was at Ashley's house so much. The two went to the beach to get away from everything, and every walk they shared was a special time to bond. Grant and Ashley loved going to the beach together.

"Someone told me that I should audition for one of those singing shows today," Ashley blurted out. She blushed and grinned, looking out to the choppy waves of the ocean and laughed lightly to herself. Grant stopped walking and stood beside her. "It's that ridiculous?"

"Have you _heard _yourself sing?! That's not ridiculous at all-I think you'd win one!" he told her enthusiastically.

"You're supposed to think that, you're my best friend. Think about it realistically. I don't think my parents would approve of me parading around a stage in a miniskirt and singing about sex every week."

Grant tried to get the picture of Ashley in a miniskirt out of his head before he started talking, but it was like the image was burned into his brain. It wasn't bad at all, either. "Well you could be one of those really nun-like stars that only wears turtle necks and full length skirts and sings about Jesus and God and holy stuff," he joked, sitting down in the damp sand and pulling Ashley with him. "I bet your parents would be okay with whatever you had to do in order to get a record deal."

"I don't think so…" she shrugged and brought her tiny hands up to her lips, blowing into them to try and stay warm. Grant watched her, his eyes on her long eyelashes that many girls were envious of; they were natural, too. He remembered in sixth grade how she hadn't worn any makeup and still looked gorgeous and now, in eleventh grade, how she only wore mascara, eyeliner, and foundation. He'd seen her without any makeup and thought she still looked great, but Ashley refused to go to school without makeup on. She glanced up at him as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Remember the first day we met?" he asked, staring at the horizon dreamily. Ashley grinned.

"I remember that you broke my flute and I had to lie to my parents and tell them that I did it so you wouldn't have to pay for it."

Grant chuckled. "I'd forgotten that I actually broke it! I thought I just cracked the case,"

"_I _cracked the case from landing on it," she reminded him. "You just _caused _me to fall on it."

"Right, you can't forget the details," he laughed and checked his phone for the time, sighing. Ashley's parents had set a very strict curfew that she had to be home by six every day after school because they knew Grant drove her home and they didn't trust him entirely. Both of her parents were strict Christians and thought that Grant would corrupt their daughter. He slowly got to his feet and pulled Ashley up, but she didn't want to move or walk all the way back to Grant's car.

"Come on, I'm tired!" she whined. "Carry me?"

Grant rolled his eyes and turned around, bending his knees so that Ashley would be able to get on his back. "Hop on."

"Aw thank you," she said as she happily jumped on his back and put her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso. Grant's hands held her thighs firmly, occasionally squeezing them to make Ashley squirm and playfully smack the back of his head. Her chin rested on his large shoulder and she leaned her head against his, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. He could tell that she was drained from having to help people at school and her brother at home, so Grant made no attempt at conversation.

Lately Ashley had been subdued, and everyone guessed it was because of her brother. She didn't know what sadness was like, because she'd always been so merry, her worst days were usually someone else's best. But she hadn't been feeling well lately and everyone could tell from the way she was dressing (sweatpants and t-shirts most days).

"I'm cold," Ashley complained as she buckled her seatbelt and watched Grant put the keys in the ignition. He grinned and turned up the heat, also pulling off his jacket and throwing it over her so her arms and legs were covered. Ashley was so small that it was more of a blanket on her. "Well now _you're _going to be cold."

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," he told her as he turned on the radio. Grant knew the only station that Ashley liked and he turned it on for her. She smiled at him and closed her eyes, swaying to the Broadway music that flowed from the speakers in the car. "This is from _Wicked_, right?"

Ashley nodded and hooked her arm around Grant's. "Yeah. That play is _phenomenal_; I'll take you to see it one day,"

"You know I can't sit through plays," he groaned. Grant had ADHD, so even sitting through a half-hour lecture was torture to him. Usual during class he'd try and talk to Ashley while she took notes, but she'd told him to stop doing that long ago. Grant had taken up sketching people when he found that he could no longer pay attention to the teacher because it kept his hands and his brain busy. His notebook was full of Ashley's face, her back, her silhouette, and every little scene he remembered from when they were younger. He was actually quite good at drawing her.

"Oh, even you would like it!" Ashley laughed and looked outside of her window, assessing the houses in hers and Grant's neighborhood. Most of them looked the same: large brick homes that were at least two stories high and had grand glass storm doors. The yards were all perfectly manicured and had small trees and beds of flowers adorning them. Everything was perfectly in order and predictable.

Except for now.

Grant turned down Ashley's street and was assaulted with the sight of police cars and ambulances crowded in her driveway and on the road before her house. Both of them were struck silent, Grant not moving the car an inch and Ashley unable to speak. His heart hammered against his chest as he stared at the scene and Grant felt the blood rush from his face. Ashley's face got deathly pale, then, with a strangled gasp, Ashley threw herself out of the car and sprinted down the road toward her house.

Police officers caught her and held her back from going into her home. She struggled and screamed, fighting and punching them with an agonized expression on her face. She was terrified. Medics in stark white uniforms rushed out of the house and Grant ran to meet Ashley. Emergency workers were frantically yelling out orders, scrambling through doors and carrying supplies. Grant pushed past a few by-standers, the sirens of the police cars and ambulances wailing and making him wince, and pushed with Ashley at the police officers holding them back.

"That's my house!" Ashley shouted as she pushed and kicked, her body quaking in fear. Seeing her so terrified made anger and fear flow through his veins, and Grant caught one police man's arm.

"What's going on?!"

"You two need to leave-this house is being quarantined. _Go!_" he tried to shove them back and out of the group of officials, but Ashley's adrenaline made her much, much stronger than she was, because she was able to break the ranks and run up her yard, towards the door. Before she was able to reach it, though, it burst open. Her mother stumbled out, followed by a stream of medics. Her mother's dark brown hair was matted and stringy and looked like most of it out of her skull. Her mouth was gaping and her skin looked yellow and sickly. Ashley ran towards her and tried to reach for her hands, but a young police officer shoved her backwards and made her fall on the grass.

"It's the thing they told us about!" he shouted back, terror clear in his voice. He pulled his pistol out and aimed it at Ashley's mother's head. "The disease, it got them!"

Grant drove through the gaping hole that Ashley had created and tackled the man with the gun, kicking it out of his hands. Why was he pointing it at Ashley's mom? What was going on? Had she done something wrong? "What the _hell _are you doing?!"

"Get outta the way, kid," the man grunted, swiping his gun from the ground and pointing it at Ashley's mom again. She growled at him, and Grant and Ashley were taken aback. Her eyes were white and sightless and her mouth emitted deep, primal snarls. Ashley howled in agony when she saw that her mom's leg had a wide, bleeding hole in it.

"NO!" she shrieked, seeing the officer point his gun at her mother's head. The woman that had always been so strict and so sweet and understanding at the same time turned towards her daughter when she ran over to her. Ashley held her mother's forearms and tried talking to her desperately. "Mom, stop! Where's Jake? Where's dad? What's going on? _Mom what're you doing?!_"

She fought against Ashley's hold on her, her mouth wide and teeth barred as she tried to get closer to Ashley's skin. Grant watched, petrified, and was pushed on the ground by another police officer. "How do we kill the damn thing?!"

_"MOM!" _Ashley pleaded as she held her back, struggling against her strength. Ashley's mom snapped her mouth at her and tried to clamp her mouth on her skin. _"Mom stop they're going to hurt you!" _

Grant's senses finally kicked in and he leapt up from his landing place on the ground and grabbed Ashley, pulling her away from her mother. He could see that she was acting too strange for something to be done by Ashley's screams and the police officers all had their guns drawn. Why they refused to shoot, he had no idea, but he held his writhing and crying friend back, his strong frame planted firmly on the ground with his muscular arms wrapped around her quivering frame. Ashley tried to fight, but Grant refused to let her move.

A swarm of men and women in white uniforms with masks over their faces poured out of her house, screaming orders and pushing through crowds of emergency workers. In the doorway two figures appeared, walking slowly with their faces covered in shadow. One of them was very thin and the other had a large belly, and both of them had a lighter brown hair. They were balding and their skin was marbled, but Ashley recognized them and her face paled and she shook with renewed sobs, knowing exactly who the two were.

_"JAKE! DAD! P-PLEASE, STOP, THEY'RE GONNA SHOOT YOU! STOP WALKING!"_

A flurry of gunshots broke through the air and Grant's heart seemed to stop. He couldn't breathe, couldn't register what was going on around him. Glass broke. Sirens and people screamed. Wood from the door flew through the air and dug itself into people's skin. Ashley's mother, Jake (her brother), and her dad all fell with bullet holes checkering their bodies. It was all chaos.

Ashley fell to her knees, crying and screaming in agony. Grant stared at the still body of Jake, not believing he was dead. What was wrong with him? Why did the police shoot him? Ashley was sobbing hard, her hands over her mouth as she stared at the remains of her family lying on the perfectly kept grass her father had taken so much pride in. A pool of blood surrounded the three bodies.

In desperation, Ashley heaved herself up and stumbled over to Jake's body. She clasped her hands around his, shaking them. People yelled for her to move, but she was numb to everything around her.

"Jake," she whispered, weeping. "Jake…"

Grant was dazed from what he'd experienced in such a short amount of time and he didn't realize what was happening before it did. Jake's head snapped up and he grabbed Ashley's foot, yanking it towards him with his mouth agape and ready to smash down on her skin. He growled and she shrieked, trying to get away from him.

"Move the girl!"

The command seemed to snap Grant out of his revere. He sprinted to Ashley and grabbed her arms, pulling her hard away from Jake. He started to crawl towards them, his damaged body somehow still working and letting him move. Ashley didn't know what to do, she stared at her brother in disbelief and Grant had to jerk her backwards so that Jake couldn't get to her. He didn't know what was going on, but Jake's eyes were so cold, so emotionless, that he couldn't be in his right mind. Ashley screamed for him and tried to get to him, but Grant held her tight, staring blankly at her brother. Everything went silent for a moment.

Then one last shot was fired past Ashley and Grant, and it went straight into Jake's brain.


	2. Chapter 1

**One **

The humid air and brutal heat refused to break as Ashley and Grant hiked. Moisture gathered on their skin and their clothes stuck to their bodies. Ashley hummed as she marched onward, her hand clasped around a knife that she used to cut vines and leaves, and a shiny pistol bounced against her thigh. Grant's bow and his quiver of arrows were on his back and he walked calmly, looking at ease.

Birds chirped and the two heard water running. The steady incline that they were climbing was covered in small trees and weeds that tangled themselves around their ankles. A few deer leapt through the growth and squirrels hopped from tree to tree. The scenery was almost unreal from everything they'd seen lately. It was a quiet day and neither of them had seen much activity, but they were still on high alert.

Ever since Ashley's family was killed she and Grant had been living alone. They didn't know for sure what had happened to their town and their friends, but they knew what had happened to the world. The same disease that had plagued Ashley's family had taken over her and Grant's town, turning everyone into what her parents and brother had become. Ashley and Grant had fled after his family turned. They had packed their bags and left, driving down towards Georgia where they'd heard that the disease hadn't hit, until Grant ran out of gas and the gas stations were no longer in service. Everywhere the two went they saw broken people and cities that looked like they'd gone through a disaster. Of course, they had.

The forest was quiet. Grant focused on his breathing as he trudged along behind Ashley, toying with the tight string on his bow. It had been his pride and joy back at school and at archery competitions, but now it was his lifeline. He fixated on Ashley's figure as she walked. She was clad in a white t-shirt flowed from her shoulders and landed on her small hips, dark, dirty jeans that had gotten very loose from her wearing them so often, and had her pants tucked into worn brown combat boots that were tied tightly. On Ashley's waist was a belt that held her hunting knife (what had been her father's pride possession when he was alive) and a pistol that she'd stolen from a shop they had passed when they had gone through a ghost town.

Ashley glanced back at Grant. His green eyes were trained on her hips, and she grinned. Even though they were surviving together in the wild he still looked ridiculously good. Wearing an old grey jacket that he left unzipped with a white shirt underneath, he let the necklace that he'd taken from his dad's drawer before he and Ashley had to flee his house bounce against his chest. He had on faded jeans and hiking boots, and his dark hair was short from Ashley cutting it with her knife. He'd gotten leaner from not having as much food, and his cheeks were hollowed out. To Ashley he was even more attractive than he had been before.

They came across a small stream that had rocks scattered around it. Ashley stared into the water, slowly coming to a stop and sitting on one of the boulders. Grant plopped down beside her, staring into the stream, watching the fish in it hungrily. Ashley noticed how intently he was looking at them and offered him the handle of her knife.

"Bet you can't get any," she joked, ignoring the tremendous growl her stomach let out. Grant's roared in response and he grinned.

"Bet you I can,"

He peeled off his shoes and dirty socks, rolling up the bottoms of his pants so that they wouldn't get wet when he went into the water. Stepping in the cool water slowly, he stayed still and watched the fish swim around him, some stopping to nibble on his toes. He focused in on one particularly large fish that had stopped to check out his ankles and then, with lightning speed he'd gotten from living in the wilderness for six months, and stabbed at it.

"You missed,"

"I know that Ashley," Grant snapped, turning towards her. She shrugged and stood up, also taking off her shoes and socks so that she could step into the water. She held out her hand for her knife and Grant handed it to her, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow.

"I'll go further down and you yell for me if you got any, okay?" Ashley tucked part of her bangs that had come out of her bun back into it, rubbing her tired eyes. She smiled lightly at Grant and he nodded, not able to pass off the fake happiness and optimism that she had. Moving down in the water, Ashley disappeared around a bend, hidden by small trees and ivy that hung from their branches. Grant could barely hear her start to sing over the babble of the water on the stones, and that made him a little nervous. Pausing to listen to her, he guessed that she was fine; if she needed him she'd call.

He had the string on his bow tight. Grant stared into the water intently, waiting for the right fish to come along and pause to look at his skin wonderingly. Even though he was focused as much as he possibly could be, Grant's mind started to wonder. He couldn't help it, after all, because it was his ADHD and ADD that affected him to make him so jittery and hyper. He stared to think about Ashley.

Everything about his best friend intrigued Grant, from her mind to her body. Spending so much time with her without anyone made him yearn for her even more than he had when they had been in school together. Maybe he'd been too separated from other girls (after all, the only relationship with anyone he'd ever had was taking one girl at band camp behind the bleachers to kiss for a while) for his entire life and had always had feelings for Ashley that he didn't fully realize. But now Grant wanted to have more of a relationship with her than he had before.

_That's stupid, _Grant told himself. _You're running together, there's not time for stuff like that._

A large fish stopped by his foot and he shot at it, his arrow going straight through the fish's head. Victoriously, Grant swiped it out of the water and took a good look at. His stomach growled in agreement when the thought of how good this would be for dinner. Just as he stepped out of the water, Grant heard Ashley's high pitched scream break through the still air. His heart thudded against his chest and he sprinted towards her, shoving the curtain of ivy away so he could see her.

Ashley's pale face was splattered with blood. Grant pulled his bow tight again, notching another arrow as he ran towards his friend. A walking corpse dragged its leg as it struggled towards Ashley, growling and snarling, snapping its teeth viciously. She swiped her knife at it, trying to reach its head without leaving the water. The thing's companion lay dead on the ground, a knife shaped hole in its head from where Ashley had killed it-she'd known better than to use her pistol, it would just attract more of them. In the serene setting of the forest they were in the two zombies seemed oddly out of place, like something you'd see in a bad horror film.

Grant shot his arrow, watching it sink into the zombie's left eye and spurt blood and brain matter. His hands shaking, he pulled Ashley out of the water and wiped a bit of blood off of her face, checking over her. "Were you bit?"

"No," Ashley sighed and looked over at Grant. She held up a fish bigger than the one he had killed while she tried not to look at the bodies that lie in small puddles of blood. "But at least I got this."

"Come on, let's make a place to sleep and eat," he told her, pulling her out of the water. She wrinkled her nose as she passed the body, but otherwise showed no discomfort. They were very used to killing those things by now, but Ashley was still wary of taking their lives-Grant usually had to do the dirty work for her. She was adapting, though, and had killed three so far. Four, counting the scene by the stream.

"Did you get anything?" Ashley asked as she gathered dry twigs to make a fire. Grant had dropped his fish on the ground when he saw the zombie and he picked it up again, wiping dirt off of the scales and showing it to Ashley. She nodded in approval. "Mm, I just want to dig in now…but I'll get a fire started instead."

"We could eat it raw," Grant offered, but Ashley shook her head.

"No, we're not savages. We'll wait until it's cooked and we'll eat it that way."

Grant could tell that Ashley wanted to wait to eat the fish about as much as him, but he did what she told him to and waited, helping her start a fire and boil water for them to have with the fish. He paced as the fish cooked and Ashley stoked the fire, patiently waiting for the food to be ready. Her thin face looked peaceful since she'd wiped off the blood that had been adorning it, but her eyes were hungry and fierce. She was starved and hated having to wait.

Grant, whom was impatient, looked through both of their backpacks, taking inventory of what they had. In Ashley's backpack was a huge sheet of plastic that she'd folded up so it was tiny and could fit in the smallest pocket, a large Ziplock bag full of granola and nuts that she'd gathered, a good water bottle, the maps of North Carolina and Georgia stolen from convenient stores that the two had passed on their journey, two flashlights with multiple packages of batteries to keep them working, a jacket, and an extra shirt and part of jeans.

In his own backpack were extra magazines for Ashley's gun, three knives, an extra set of clothes for him, four large bags of nonperishable food, some extra arrows that were strapped to the outside of the bag, and flint to use for fires. He figured that they were better off than most, but Grant and Ashley were always in need of more supplies-whenever one of them got a cut they had nothing to cover it in to make sure they didn't get an infection. In the world they were living in, that could be deadly.

Finally, Ashley took the fish off of the spoke they'd been speared with and pushed them on to the two pieces of plastic that she and Grant carried with them for food. He jumped towards his and grabbed it taking a large bite out of the flesh and savoring the taste of meat. Ashley also tucked right in, abandoning the manners she usually used. They both ate their dinner ravenously.

"I told you it was worth the wait," Ashley said through a mouth full of food. Grant shrugged and pulled another piece of the fish's meat off of its bones.

"Just think how good it'd be with salt," he told her. She laughed and shook her head, continuing to eat.

"Be grateful for what we've got, Grant, because we could be dead."

He grinned and took a sip of the water Ashley had boiled and poured into his water bottle, his raw throat finding temporary relief. Ashley, whom was hunched over her food, picked at the bones of her fish since all the meat was gone and pulled a rib off of the spine. She studied it and used it as a toothpick, turning her gaze to Grant.

"Where should we head to next?" he asked, antsy under her stare. Ashley pulled her backpack off of her back and took an old, worn map from out of the front pocket, unfolding it and spreading it out on the dirt between her and Grant's legs. Darkness was falling fast, but their fire gave them warmth and light.

"I'd say we should keep going towards Atlanta," Ashley murmured as she chewed on the end of her fish bone. "I mean, last we heard that was the only place the disease hasn't hit. There will probably be survivors there that we can pair with and hopefully find a place to stay permanently."

"What if the disease has hit there too?" Grant asked, moving closer to Ashley and peering over her shoulder at the wrinkled paper. She seemed to deflate and her shoulders moved up and down as she rolled them, exhausted.

"I have no idea…let's just hope for the best, okay?"

"We can't just ignore the idea that it could've hit there, Ash."

"Well we can't just focus on the bad either, Grant! We'll keep moving south and maybe we'll find a safe place to live." She put her cool hands over her eyes and leaned against Grant, relaxing when his arms wound around her waist and pulled her close.

He rested his head on top of hers. "We're gonna be alright,"

"Yeah, I know," she said without enthusiasm. Ashley brought her feet up to her chest and let Grant play with the hairs that were loose from her bun. Silently, the two stared up at the moon and listened to the sounds of the forest around them. Ashley's stomach made a noise as it digested the food she'd just had, and Grant chuckled. She turned her head to look at him, smiling. "What're you laughing at?"

"Your stomach made a weird noise,"

"Ugh, you're such a child," Ashley laughed and turned around so she was facing Grant. He extended his legs on either side of her and she put her hands on his ankles so she could sit more comfortably.

"You have no idea how childish I can be," he told her. She smirked and poked his dimples playfully. Grant caught her wrists and pulled her towards him, making her mouth drop and the corners of her mouth pull up in a surprised smile.

He was strong enough to hold her steady with only one hand, so he put both of her small wrists in the palm of his hand and held them tight, placing his index finger on his other hand in his mouth. Ashley's face lit up with comprehension of what he was going to do, and she started to pull against him. He just shook his head and chuckled darkly.

"Grant, I swear if you put your finger anywhere near me I will murder you while you sleep," she threatened. Slowly, he popped his finger out of his mouth and moved it towards her ear, ignoring her noises of protest. "No! Grant, stop it!"

"Wet Willy!" he laughed when Ashley squeaked and yanked her wrists out of his grasp, flying backwards and coming close to falling in their fire. She glared at him and hit the ground angrily. "You really thought I'd do that? Well, I am _insulted_!"

"Oh shut up," Ashley rolled her eyes and pushed Grant, moving back to sit a couple feet away from him. Even though she looked angry, Grant knew her well enough that he could mess with her and she wouldn't be too upset with him. He scooted closer to her, putting a sad look on his face.

"I didn't mean to make you mad,"

She scoffed and turned from him, a hint of a grin gracing her face. "Bull."

"Aw, come on," he hugged her to her chest, making Ashley giggle. She pushed Grant off of her again but sat beside him, staring into the fire as she took her hair down and let it cascade over her shoulders. He stared at her with a light smile and put his hands behind him to lean back and stare at their fire.

The flames licked up the logs and twigs that Ashley had scrounged. Grant had felt the calluses on her hands that she'd gotten lately; when they'd been in school she had the nicest, smoothest hands, and now they were ruined. Her eyes that had always twinkled with the merry light that made everyone smile were darker and more hardened from living in the wilderness and having to kill zombies. Grant wished he could take away all her pain, all the memories that she carried, but he already had far too many horrific ones that took up the space in his mind.

When Ashley's family had been killed by the police she was devastated. Grant and his parents had taken her in and let her live with them. She didn't go to school for a week and she was the talk of the town-everyone asked Grant what had happened to get the realest account they could, but, like any other place, rumors flourished and people became suspicious about what had really occurred. Why would the police shoot Ashley's family if they hadn't done anything? And everyone that had been at the location had heard their shouts about 'the disease', and they wanted to know what that was.

Constantly hammered with questions, Grant soon avoided school too. His parents had to do all of the shopping because he refused to go out of the house since everyone asked him so many questions. He and Ashley stayed home together, constantly giving each other the consolation and sympathy they needed when one would burst out in tears; sometimes they exchanged theories about what her family had been suffering from, but that was a painful subject for Ashley and she'd usually walk out of the room crying.

Of course Grant was hurting just as much as her; Jake had been one of his best friends. Even though he had tried to act like he was strong, late at night Ashley would come into his room to find him crying into his hands, and she'd start crying too, and they'd comfort each other. He had been sobbing particularly hard one night and had divulged his fears to her: that she'd turn out the exact same way as her brother and her parents.

Ashley had been thinking about that too, and she told him as calmly as she could that, if it happened, he needed to call the police and make sure that she didn't hurt anyone. Grant tried to push that memory out of his head as he watched Ashley stoke their fire, but it stuck. She had stayed with him in his room that night and they'd fallen asleep talking about the happier aspects of their lives, something Ashley said she needed to focus on. When Grant awoke early in the morning he had found Ashley clinging to his side as she slept, her hands holding on to his shirt tightly and her legs wrapped around his.

"Grant," he jumped back and his eyes widened when Ashley laughed at him. "Who's got first watch?"

"Oh, um, I'll take it," he murmured, clearing his throat nervously. Ashley grinned and nodded, grabbing one of the last working flashlights they had from her backpack and handing it to him.

"Use this," she said. Grant took it and watched her silently as she pulled out a blanket to wrap around herself while she slept, grabbing a second and throwing it to him. Their fire continued to burn, and Ashley laid down so her back was pressed against Grant's legs. Something like an electric shock went through his body, but he tried to ignore it and pretend that it was his imagination.

"Do you still know the constellations?" Grant asked quietly, twirling a piece of Ashley's smooth hair between his fingers. She nodded.

"Yeah…well, sort of. They're difficult to remember because I never really committed them to memory. I know a few, like…" she pointed up at the stars through the trees' leaves and traced one with her finger. "That's the Big Dipper,"

"_Everyone_ knows the Big Dipper,"

Ashley hit Grant's thigh. "Shut up, it was the first one I saw. That one over there," she pointed to another cluster of lights. "That's Orion."

"And what's the story behind that?"

"I know he was Greek. I think he was some awesome hunter that was killed by a giant scorpion, then the gods raised him from the dead into the sky to become a constellation." Ashley sighed and interlocked her fingers, staring aimlessly up into the black sky. Her eyes followed the stars as she picked out people and animals from myths. "There are so many cool stories that I can't remember. It sucks that we won't be able to learn them."

"We can make up our own now," Grant said as he sunk lower, still playing with Ashley's hair. She considered that for a moment before nodding.

"I like that idea," she whispered. Her eyes slowly slid shut, and Grant heard her breathing slow down and soften. His only company was the fire, and he knew that the night would be long without Ashley to talk to.


	3. Chapter 2

**Two **

_Fresh eggs, sprinkled with salt and mixed with cheese, were set in front of Ashley. Sizzling bacon was on another plate. Apple juice sparkled in a clean glass. Her stomach growled as she looked over the food, and another plate with toast that had peanut butter spread over it was set in front of her. Ashley savored the smell of the rich food, her poor, underfed body yearning to taste it, but for some reason, she was unable to move. A whimper sounded from deep inside her throat, and she glanced up at her mother, whom was seated across the table from her with a steaming cup of coffee in her hands. _

_ She was perfectly healthy. Her dark hair was straight and shiny, pulled back from her face with a headband, and her eyes were no longer empty, but full of life. She seemed to know what she was doing, unlike when Ashley had seen her for the very last time, because she wasn't lunging towards her trying to devour her. _

_ "Eat up, honey," her voice was stark and she didn't seem sincere. "You've not been eating enough lately. Why's that?" _

_ She tried to answer her, but Ashley's vocal chords were struck dumb. Her hands were useless by her sides. Suddenly, Ashley realized that she was clean and in some of her old clothes: a red sweatshirt that had the logo of a store on it and a pair of skinny jeans with her favorite pair of fuzzy boots on. Her mother took a sip of her coffee and picked up a small piece of bacon, nibbling on it in a lady-like manner. _

_ "Oh, sweetie, you and Grant should've never run away. Look at you, you're trying to make yourself seem like an innocent little girl (the type of girl you _used _to be) but I know what's going through your head. Little devil, that's what you are. I don't think I know of anyone that thinks like you do and hasn't been banished to Hell on the spot. You disgust me." _

_ Ashley's mouth turned down in a frown, but she couldn't do any more than that. She knew her mother hated Grant; she always had because she assumed that they did 'bad' things together when they were alone. She made a noise in the back of her throat, but her mom's eyes moved from Ashley's face to behind her, and she smiled lightly. _

_ "Morning," a voice said groggily. Ashley's eyes widened and she felt tears prick the back of them. Jake plopped down beside her, shoving his fork in her eggs and eating them with a small grin. His dark bangs were pushed back from his forehead, giving him a cowlick. He nudged Ashley's arm with his elbow and pointed to her full plate. "Tuck in, Ash," he said in a clipped British accent. "Tastes real good." _

_ He continued to stare at her as he sipped on the orange juice their mother had handed to him. Ashley had tears running down her face, but she was still unable to make a noise. She wanted to reach out and hug Jake-the one she was seeing now was free of disease, his face was handsome again, and he had his usual demeanor-but still, her arms stuck to the chair she sat in. _

_ "Come on Ash, eat," Jake urged. She sobbed silently and watched him shrug; he didn't seem to notice how much his appearance upset her. Her father came down the stairs with his dark red bathrobe on, his face was also human again and he seemed tired, which was usual because he had to stay at his office so late on weekdays. He got a cup of coffee before leaving to the living room, where he'd read the paper and have the news on. Her mother cleaned dishes in the sink with TLC blaring from the television in the kitchen. Jake got up and sprinted up the stairs to his room, leaving Ashley at the table. No one paid her any attention while she sat at her chair with her arms limp at her sides with tears streaming down her face. She just sat, alone, and watched her family carry on with their usual business. _

_ Being bad at her old house made Ashley feel sick. She wanted to throw up, so scream, to run up to her room and fall on her bed and sleep until she couldn't possibly sleep anymore. The air was cool, which told her that her mother was using the air conditioning…she sighed, _air conditioning_. Ashley had almost forgotten what it felt like. _

**_XXX_**

Ashley blinked and rubbed her eyes tiredly. The sky was still dark, but she could tell that dawn was approaching from the noises of the forest. Grant sat with his back to her as he hunched over their fire, one hand on a stick to stoke the flame with and the other barely touching her leg. It was a gesture Ashley knew well, one that Grant had always used around her. He needed to know that she was with him and he always wanted to know where she was. It made her feel safe.

Ashley sat up and put her backpack on her back, pushing her tangled hair out of her face. She plucked the elastic band on her wrist that she put it up with and started to comb through it with her fingers, attempting to make herself look halfway decent. Grant glanced back at her and smiled, looking down at the ground when she caught him staring.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me?" Ashley laughed, pulling her hair back and twisting the hair tie around it so it was off her neck. Grant shrugged and smirked, looking in her eyes and shaking his head.

"No, except you've got a little something here," he pointed to his right temple. Ashley furrowed her brow and rubbed the skin, not sure what was on her face. Actually, _anything_ could've been on her face. She could've slept in dung and probably wouldn't have noticed. Grant stared at her. "And here," he pointed to her chin. "And there, and there, and-no, you haven't gotten it yet!-and to the right, yeah, no…"

"Grant!" Ashley exploded, laughing. "I don't have anything on my face, do I?"

He grinned. "Well, you're pretty dirty, so there's no telling. I'd say we could both use a wash soon."

"Ugh, don't make me think about the baths I used to take," Ashley fell on her back and looked up at the sky, seeing a bit of sunlight peek over the trees. "With bubbles and music playing and books to read; they were _heaven_."

"I don't care about the bubbles or books or music, I'd kill for hot water,"

"We can boil water,"

Grant gave Ashley a reproachful look. "You wanna boil enough water for us to bathe in?"

"Well no, but I just meant we _could_."

"Well there's a lot of stuff we _could_ do,"

"Oh, be quiet, Grant," Ashley sighed and sat up again, stuffing her blanket down into her backpack. "I say we try to find a place that we can stay for a while today. Somewhere safe."

"Yeah? And what type of place would that be?"

Taking her map out of her bag, Ashley pointed to a small spot on it. "There's a prison a bit away. It would be a good place to stay, you know…full security, food supplies, medical stuff…it'd be a nice place to stay."

She'd been racking her brains for quite some time, scanning the map of Georgia over and over again until she knew it like she knew Grant, and still, every single time she looked at it, the prison seemed like their best shot at survival. Like she'd told Grant, it had food, it was secure, it had supplies that they could use, and it would most likely have medical supplies to aid them. Ashley nodded to herself, feeling confident that she was making the right decision.

"What about the ones that are dead inside?" Grant asked, moving over to look at the map with Ashley. He placed a hand on her knee without realizing it. "The prisoners, you know, what about them?"

"Maybe they haven't turned,"

"What if they have?"

"Then we'll do what we need to," she sighed and drew a little sun in the dirt by her feet, smearing it away. "Let's just hope that they're all finished or they're still alive."

"Hope isn't going to get us into the prison, Ash, real work is."

She looked at Grant and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know. But we can hope for the best and maybe it'll come true. There _are_ such things as miracles."

"Okay, okay, we'll go to the prison and see how it looks. But, if it's bad, I'm not taking a chance of you getting hurt." He glanced up at Ashley, a blush forming on his cheeks. "We could find another place if it doesn't work….like a tree house. We'll build a tree house."

"A tree house?" she laughed and pushed Grant lightly. "Yeah, obviously we've got the supplies to build a tree house. It'd have cable and air conditioning and wifi so we'd never have to leave!" Ashley laughed at how foolish she sounded. She'd felt a pang of guilt when she'd mentioned air conditioning because it brought back flashbacks of her dream, but she shook it off. "No, don't you worry, the prison will work, and I'll do whatever I need to so that we get in there, whether it puts me in danger or not."

"You're not going to do anything that could get you hurt," Grant told her sternly. She studied him with her arms crossed over her chest. The sunlight fell on her face pleasantly, throwing her sharp cheekbones into contrast from the round shape of her eyes and nose.

"How come?"

"Because…I just don't want you to get hurt,"

"But what if you get hurt?"

"Then I get hurt and you're fine," Grant stood up and offered Ashley his hand; she rejected it and stood on her own, putting her hands on her hips defiantly. "It works best that way."

Ashley raised one of her eyebrows and shook her head. "Grant, you're being incredibly sexist. I go into anything you do and we both do whatever we've got to so that we stay alive, that's how it works."

"But-"

"No. That's how it works," they stared at each other for a minute, seeing who would back down first; Ashley had her fists on her hips and she was glaring at him with a look that Grant knew well, one that told him she wouldn't be giving up. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was chewing on the inside of his lip to try and make sure that he didn't burst out and agree before Ashley gave in.

Grant sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Fine, you can put your neck out there whenever I do,"

"Good!" Ashley chirped, picking up her stuff and throwing her bag on her back. "That's how it ought to be,"

"You didn't win," Grant mumbled as they moved out of their clearing, on their way to the prison. Ashley laughed and agreed with him to keep him happy.

**_XXX_**

"The yard is clear!" Ashley hissed giddily. Grant crouched behind her and peered over her shoulder, his face breaking out in a triumphant smile. Before them were towers with spotlights on them and a huge fortress that they knew to be the prison. Though they had never been inside, it looked like a home. Their hearts swelled with the idea of actually living somewhere. "Look! There aren't any of the dead things there! They're all…dead!"

"How the hell is that possible?" he breathed.

"I don't know but it is! If we can talk to them we'll be able to join them and-"

Grant grabbed her shoulder and Ashley stopped talking abruptly, turning her head to look at him. He whispered hurriedly, "What if the people there are, like, some military group and the moment they see us they kill us? I doubt that a group that could take out something like _that_," he jabbed his finger in the direction of the fences topped with barbed wire that had dead bodies strewn about in the grass. "Would just let two underfed teenagers come in and join them. I don't know about this anymore…"

"Come on, look at it," Ashley stared longingly at the structure. Since the two were camped out on a ridge overlooking the place they had a great view and could tell what was going on-all they saw were zombies stumbling around and holding on to the chain link, biting and growling. "We could rest and make a permanent camp. It'd be just perfect,"

"What if they don't let us join? It seems to be a big group if they could clear out an entire block like that…" Grant sighed and glanced down at the ground. "We should watch for a while and get a feel for the amount of people they have. Surely they'll come out and do rounds or something."

"And if they don't?"

"Hey," he smiled at Ashley. "I'm supposed to be the voice of reason in this relationship."

Kissing her cheek quickly, Grant stood up and broke a couple of branches down from a sapling near them, making a small shelter for them to stay under. Ashley helped him, throwing a small sheet of plastic that they had scrounged earlier in their travels over the branches; together they talked quietly about old memories they shared, laughing and smiling as they did.

"Remember the first ever party we went to where you accidentally ate the weed brownie?" Ashley asked as she tied two branches together with a vine. Grant chuckled.

"That was a very good party," he said, stepping back to look at the small tent they'd created. Dusk was falling quickly, and the two needed to find firewood so they'd have protection against the night. Grant started to walk around the outside of the clearing they were in with Ashley, following her and watching her in the dim light. Even though she was tired and had dirt and sweat smeared on her face, Grant thought she looked stunning.

Ashley's hair was shorter than before because she's hacked off most of its length with her knife when it had reached her hips, and her face was gaunt from lack of food. Her cheekbones were still a very proud feature of her face, but, when Ashley wasn't smiling, they looked more haunting than feminine. Her eyes were darker than they'd been before and had more hidden behind them-things she'd seen and had to do since she and Grant had left North Carolina, but they still twinkled pleasantly when she'd make a joke or laugh at something Grant told her.

She was slimmer now, too. Whenever Grant held her he felt her bones and, since he'd seen her with just her bra on when she was cleaning her shirt one night, he knew that Ashley's waist was much too small to be healthy. Her once very muscular legs were slighter and seemed to get smaller every day. Grant prayed that the group that had taken over the prison they saw would let them join them because Ashley needed a steady food supply and somewhere to stay permanently, otherwise she would keep losing weight and would be too unhealthy to survive.

"Remember that time in band that we went into the instrument room when freshmen were coming in and acted like we were making out?" Grant asked randomly. Ashley's face broke into a grin as she rubbed two sticks together, creating a spark that she tended to. "One trumpet player almost wet his pants."

"Some pervert asked if he could join,"

"I forgot about him!" Grant chuckled as he grabbed his backpack and pulled out a small package of jerky that he'd stolen from a store a while ago. Splitting it in half, he handed the bigger piece over to Ashley and chewed on the end of his, watching her as she worked. One small flame appeared and licked Ashley's fingers, causing her to wince and curse. Grant moved up and sat beside her, giving her a small look that told her to sit in their shelter while he did the work.

She sighed. "I'm fine,"

"Just let me do this," he told her as he worked with the fire. Ashley rolled her eyes at his stubbornness and took small bites of the food he'd given her, savoring the relief it gave to her growling stomach. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand tiredly, closing her eyes and rolling her shoulders. Grant watched her out of the corner of his eye. "I'll take first watch again, you seem tired."

"No, I'll take first watch and I'll keep a good look on the prison. Maybe we'll see some of their group doing rounds,"

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep? You had to take last watch last night," Grant said as he poked the fire some more. Ashley nodded.

"Positive, I like the early part of the night, when I get to look at the stars,"

"You like looking at the stars?" Grant asked, chuckling.

"Yes, I do. They make me remember all those nights we'd sneak out and go sit on the beach to look at the sky. You remember doing that, or do you just like dwelling on all the sad things?" Ashley smirked and leaned against the outside of their shelter with her knife drawn, staring above her with misty eyes.

"I remember doing that, your brother beat me up when you weren't in your room one night,"

Ashley laughed and stretched, brushing her hair back. "Sorry about that, Jake was pretty protective. But, he had the right to be. I mean, you were an _awful_ guy,"

"Oh yeah, I was banging girls every night and in-between class periods," Grant laughed and sat in front of Ashley, watching her features flick in the firelight. He wanted to reach out and touch her. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair, however knotted and matted with dirt it may be. He wanted to kiss her. But, he didn't. Grant knew better than to try anything on Ashley now, she was so broken and so confused in the world that they were in that she didn't have time (nor did she want to think) about romance. Now, if they were with a group that had order and they didn't have to move constantly and fight about what they were going to do the next night, he may have a chance with her.

"Go to sleep," Ashley told him softly, putting her hand on his knee. "If I need to pee or I get tired I'll wake you up. You'll need to be alert tomorrow, though,"

"Why?"

"You're watching the prison all day while I hunt," her face split in a smile and Grant cuffed her on the shoulder gently. He crawled past her and was about to lie down when he felt her cool hand on his cheek. Ashley was looking at him with her head cocked to the side. "You're growing a beard."

Feeling his jaw, Grant furrowed his eyebrows. "I am?"

"It's still stubble, but it's coming in."

"Well I'll shave it next time I get to go to the barber's shop," he breathed, lying on his back while he listened to Ashley's quiet giggles. His eyes closed and he turned on his side, putting his arm out like he did whenever he and Ashley shared a space. Her hums penetrated his ears as she kept watch on the forest that was loud with noises from animals that were coming out, and Grant felt himself slipping into the inky blackness that blessed him with relief from the hellish world he lived in.


	4. Chapter 3

**Three**

Ashley braided bits of her hair absentmindedly, watching the prison. It looked abandoned, but she saw two people sneaking across the yard into one of the towers. They were holding hands and one was curvy and the other tall and lean, so she guessed that they were lovers. They disappeared and she stared at the top of the tower, seeing their silhouettes. Soon they hit the floor to where she could no longer see them.

She sighed and picked under her finger nails with the blade of her knife, getting dirt and gore out and flicking it on the ground. The fire that she'd conjured up was slowly dying, but it gave enough light for her to be able to see around their clearing. Ashley stared at the hilt of her knife, realizing that there was blood all over and stains on the blade from the people she'd had to kill. Of course, they'd already been dead, but that didn't settle well on Ashley's mind.

An owl hooted dully from a tree to her right, and she looked towards it slowly. A light breeze ruffled her hair and made the leaves in the trees rustle, masking the chirping of the crickets and the croaking of bullfrogs that resided in a creek near the camp. Ashley listened to Grant's steady breathing, thinking about his family.

He'd had two younger brothers that were twins named Dylan and William, and an older sister named Mary. His parents had been very nice people, they'd always welcomed Ashley into their home whenever she came over and would allow her and Grant to stay in his room without supervision. The entire family, like Grant, had dark hair and bright eyes. Mary had played volleyball and had been a junior in high school when Ashley met her in seventh grade, and everyone thought she was going to go to the Olympics for her sport.

William was on his elementary school academic team and read on a college level in third grade. He was quiet compared to Dylan, who loved basketball and cars. They were both sweet boys that loved everyone and everything dearly. The entire Taylor family was adored by everyone. Grant had loved his family, he was close with each of them, but he favored Mary. Every weekend the Taylors would have a night dedicated to family bonding, which made their relationship even stronger; just weeks after meeting him, Grant had invited Ashley over to his house for the family night and the entire family had immediately taken to her. The Taylor's deaths and reawakening had been a blow to the community; after they turned, the entire town seemed to crumble and people started dying left and right.

All except Ashley and Grant.

Somehow they'd never been infected with the disease and were able to get away before they saw their home town die. Ashley was haunted with images that she'd dreamed of: the children at the daycare she worked at wondering aimlessly around the streets, their faces decaying and gaunt. The women at her church that had always snuck cookies to her when she was a child eating a deer carcass that they'd found dead in a clearing. Everyone that she'd passed at the grocery store or had glanced over to see at a stop light dead and crawling around, their bodies condemned to staying alive when they were supposed to be dead. Tears pricked the back of Ashley's eyes, but she brushed them away.

Grant shifted in his sleep, mumbling something. His hand tightened around his knife and he kicked his legs, like he was running. Ashley glanced inside the tent he was sheltered in, guessing he was having a nightmare. She placed her hand on his calf reassuringly, letting him know that she was near; his mumbles quieted and he faded back to a somewhat peaceful sleep. Ashley wished she had a book or something to entertain herself with other than her thoughts, but all her books were at her house, which she could never go back to.

She started to think about the two people she'd just seen. Ashley may have been sheltered as a child but, once she hit sixth grade, guys started flirting with her and she became friends with girls that informed her on all the information she'd been deprived of as a child. She knew they were having sex. Ashley remembered some of her past relationships: one month dating Adam in sixth grade where the most they did was hug, a short relationship with one of her close friends Marcus in seventh grade that had almost no feeling in it, an eight month relationship with Antonio-Grant's best friend at the time-at the end of seventh grade through the beginning of eighth grade. Though, Ashley's first kiss hadn't come from one of her 'boyfriends', it was from Grant. In seventh grade he'd kissed her on the beach during the summer because someone had dared him; they'd promised to forget it and not let it affect their friendship (of course it had made Ashley's heart hammer and her legs weak, but she chose not to remember the fine details of the kiss she and Grant had shared). Most of the girls that she had been friends with had done much more than Ashley had, but she was okay with not doing much with guys.

Knowing Grant, Ashley guessed that he wasn't a novice when it came to love and relationships; in school he'd been the most sought after boy and girls used to throw themselves at him, offering anything he could ever want. She'd always been worried that he'd take it too far with a girl and get her pregnant, but it had never happened. Even though she and Grant were best friends and knew everything about each other, she'd never asked him anything that personal; usually he'd blush and laugh off her questions about that kind of stuff.

"Ash,"

She jumped in the air and clutched her chest, closing her eyes and crawling to look into the tent that Grant was sleeping in. His eyes reflected the light of the dying fire as he looked at her. "Jesus Christ, Grant, you scared the heck out of me,"

"Sorry," his voice cracked and Ashley's mouth turned down, she could tell from his pale, sweaty face that he was terrified. "Can…can you come here?"

"What's wrong?" she whispered. Grant grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, sitting up, while he sniffed quietly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just need you near me for a second,"

"Okay," Ashley nodded and melted into Grant's warm embrace, her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. His heart was fluttering wildly, like he'd been running and, in an attempt to calm him, Ashley held one of his hands in hers and traced the tip of her finger over his knuckles, drawing circles soothingly. Grant's eyes closed and he pressed his forehead on the top of Ashley's head, taking a deep breath.

An owl hooted dully on a branch to their right but they paid no attention to it. Tears slipped down Grant's cheeks, he ignored them though and held Ashley closer to his chest. Her boney shoulders dug into his chest, but he needed to pain to bring him out of his revere of darkness. Grant had dreamt that Ashley had been bitten by a zombie and she'd turned…he'd had to shot her before she bit him. He woke up just as he'd put her gun to his own head in his dream and had squeezed the trigger. Thinking about Ashley's gaunt, sallow face and snapping teeth as her small hands tried to grab him made Grant shiver.

"Did you see anything?" Grant asked, trying to calm himself down.

"Two people came out and are having sex in that tower,"

"Oh," he was surprised at how bluntly Ashley had told him that, and a grin made its way to his face even though he tried not to show it; of course Ashley would make him smile when he wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. "Well, seems like you had a productive shift. I'll take over from now."

"Okay, I'm tired anyways," she yawned and stretched, glancing back at the tower with slight interest. "What do you think the story is behind them?"

Grant stared at Ashley with his eyebrows furrowed, not sure what she was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you think they were friends before this all happened and they sort of fell for each other since they had to spend so much time together?" her face had a hint of a blush with that hypothesis. "Or they could've met after the disease spread and fell in love. What do you think?"

"They could just be using each other,"

"Oh Grant! Why would you do that?"

"Well, even if you're in a world full of dead people that can walk around and eat you and you're not sure if you're going to live another day, there's still the desire to do…stuff," he explained, looking at the fire blankly.

"Well, I like to think they're in love and they're not just using one another for sex," Ashley said, staring into the windows of the building that the lovers were in. "That's much more romantic than _'Hey, let's bang and not think about it!'_, don't you think?"

Grant laughed and grinned. "Yeah, that's much more romantic."

"Well, anyways, we should remember that there's at least one couple in that group. Unless they have condoms we can probably bet there's going to be a child, or there's already one."

"Repopulating the world, I guess,"

"Once every nine months, and the time in-between you're bloated and have someone growing inside of you…" Ashley reasoned quietly to herself, grimacing. "That would turn me off."

"Turns them on, I guess," Grant said when they saw the two stand up, one of them pushing the other against the wall and continuing to kiss them. Ashley sat next to Grant and laced her hand in his, placing her head on his shoulder with her gaze up on the stars.

Her hand rose and her index finger pointed to a particularly bright, large star. "See that one?" she asked Grant. He nodded.

"Yeah?"

"We'll name it after you," she told him quietly, her voice blending in with the deluded babble of a creek that was somewhere near them and the lulling hoot of an owl. "I think it's a lot like you."

"How is a star like me?" he asked, putting his head atop Ashley's, staring into the sky. Grant didn't really care whether the star was like him or not, he just wanted to listen to Ashley's slow, soft, sleepy voice as she described her thinking to him; it always intrigued him.

"It's big, and you're really tall. It stands out, and, in school, you always stood out because of how smart you are and how nice you are and how good at sports you are. And it's pretty, and you're very pretty."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he chuckled.

"You should, because it is one," Ashley smiled and looked at Grant, studying him. His eyes shined bright in the moonlight and his face looked like one of a god, handsome and strong. She felt the urge to touch him, but holding his hand sufficed for the moment.

"See the star next to mine?"

"Yeah?"

Grant smiled to himself and snuck a look at Ashley, seeing her staring up at the sky dreamily. "That's like you,"

"And why's that?"

"Because it's right next to me and it always will be."

Ashley considered Grant and smiled, nodding. "I like that. I think I'm going to sleep…wake me up if you need to use the bathroom or anything."

"I will," he leaned over and kissed her temple tenderly, making Ashley smile. "Sleep tight, don't let the zombies bite."

She shook her head at him, a faint grin on her face at his joke, and crawled into their tent, pulling a blanket around her and using her jacket as a pillow. She stared at the sheet above her, the one that would shelter her from rain and wind, but would do nothing if a zombie came. She sighed, wishing Grant was beside her, and closed her eyes. Ashley fell asleep with her hand clutched tightly around her knife.

**_XXX_**

"I'm going to hunt for a bit, you watch the prison. I'll be close enough to hear you if you yell," Ashley told Grant as she handed him her pistol. He nodded and continued to hack on the stick he'd grabbed, sharpening it into a weapon. He stuck it in the ground like it was going to make the zombies stay away. "Anything specific you'd like?"

"Lobster,"

"Would you like our finest red wine with that, sir? And dessert?" she laughed, touching his arm as she stood up. Leaning over, Ashley pressed her lips to Grant's forehead gently and started out of their camp, notching an arrow in Grant's bow, which she was taking with her to hunt since it was quieter and wouldn't attract anyone or anything. She slowly disappeared between trees and large plants, her footsteps silent. Grant watched her go, not liking that she was alone. His dream fell darkly on his mind, and he had half a mind to get up and hunt with Ashley, but Grant knew that he needed to stay at the camp. He heaved a great breath and turned around to look at the prison, his hand on the pistol he had to use since he didn't have his bow.

Staring at the old, crumbling walls, Grant wondered if the group that was there would let them join. He knew that, if they didn't have a permanent place to stay that was safe then they would probably die. Knowing that their lives-mostly Ashley's-hung so uncertainly in the balance made Grant shiver. He wanted to be positive that he knew she was going to be okay just in case he died and wouldn't be able to look after her. The future was so blurry in his mind that it scared him more than dying; he just wanted to know that Ashley, the only reason he was still alive and sane, would be safe and healthy if he weren't around.

A group of people walked out of the prison, and, from what Grant could tell, there were about four. They yelled something, and the two people that had been in the tower came out, pulling on their clothes. He could hear laughter, and he suddenly felt hatred flow through him, listening to how merry the group was. He and Ashley were living off of old, stale food and had to take turns sleeping so they wouldn't be devoured at night and those people were living an easy life. The prison was secure and all the reawakened dead were dead inside, so they didn't have anything so worry about.

A bird's shrill call was interrupted abruptly, and Grant faintly heard a thud from within the trees. He guessed that Ashley had killed it. The people in the prison yard moved around, some of them going to the outer part, which was still fenced in, and dragging bodies that spotted the ground. They piled them together, their voices and laughter floating up to where Grant was sitting. His eyes drifted over to a door that opened on the side, and he spotted another couple of people coming out into the yard. They were small, so he guessed they were children.

A squirrel scampered across the branches of a large tree that sat on the ridge going down to the prison. Grant followed it with his eyes, suddenly wondering if animals were affected by the disease like humans were; the thought of flesh eating creature added to his list of worries made Grant uneasy. Pouring a bit of granola into his hand as he observed the group, he focused in on one of the figures, deciding to study them to try and entertain his mind while he had the boring task of surveillance.

From what he could tell the person was a guy with dark blonde hair that went to the nape of his neck. He was tall and slim and he moved like a younger person, so Grant guessed he was either in his late teens, twenties, or early thirties, it was hard to tell because of how far away he was. The guy threw a body over his shoulder and then tossed it on the top of a large pile, moving back and forth doing the same strenuous, disgusting job.

"I got two birds, a squirrel, and whatever this is," Ashley strode back into the clearing, holding up the animals she'd killed. Grant glanced back at her and smiled.

"Didn't take you very long,"

"There are so many animals here, and they're all extremely stupid," she sat down beside Grant and laid her kills down, taking a deep breath and looking towards the prison with a small grin. "I went a bit down the ridge and watched them for a little bit…they seem nice."

"They probably are to each other, but there's no telling how they'll be to us,"

"I don't know; they seem like good people. Maybe they'll just let us join and we'll fit right in," Ashley said as she stared at the group. Her fingers pulled single blades of grass up and she tied them into knots without really thinking about it and Grant watched her, familiar with this habit-she had never been able to sit still, she always needed to be touching something or using her hands, otherwise she got bored and antsy, much like him. But, unlike Ashley, he wasn't so sure that the group would be so willing to accept new members. Still, he decided to amuse her.

"Yeah…maybe,"

Ashley turned to Grant and pulled his bow off of her back, pushing it over to him and handing him his quiver of arrows. He watched her expression, but it was hard to read, just like it usually was. She sighed and looked back down at the fences splitting them up from safety. "There are big groups of dead people outside the fences. They could come up here and attack us, or some may walk past us and try to kill us."

"Well aren't you just a little ray of sunshine," he pinched her cheek playfully, making her grin. "Don't worry, Ash, I've got you covered. Nothing's gonna happen to you,"

"What about to you?"

"If you're alright then I'm alright,"

"You're such a romantic, Grant, no wonder all the girls used to be all over you!" Ashley laughed and took out her knife, pulling the squirrel she'd killed towards her and beginning to skin it. Grant glanced up at the sky.

"It's not even time for lunch,"

"By the time this is ready it will be," she answered him. "Start a fire-I really don't think you want to eat _this _raw."


	5. Chapter 4

**Four **

_"Open your window," Grant whispered into his phone, stomping on the frosty ground to try and keep warm. He heard Ashley sigh and put her phone on her bedside table, and he was able to see her body at her window as she popped it open silently. Hanging up his phone and sticking it in his jeans pocket, Grant grabbed the rope that Ashley had thrown down. It was something they'd made when they were younger-two ropes tied together at certain intervals to make steps, like a ladder. It was silent when thrown down so that it wouldn't wake Ashley's family. _

_ Grant pulled himself through her window and ran a hand through his hair, which had gotten quite long since he'd started growing it out for eighth grade year, staring at Ashley. Even though it was cold outside, she was wearing a grey tank top with fleece plaid pajama pants. She hadn't taken off her makeup from the school day and her straight hair was up in a messy bun so it was off her face and neck. She was glaring at Grant with her muscular arms crossed over her chest, her neon green sock clad foot tapping on the ground angrily. _

_ "What?" Grant asked, sitting on Ashley's bed like it was his own. She rolled her eyes at him. _

_ "You almost got me kicked out of Honors Chorus!" she hissed so her parents (who were just down the hallway) wouldn't hear her. "My teacher seemed to hear about you beating up her _son_ because of me!" _

_ "Well what'd she expect me to do, just sit and watch as he tried to rape you?!" _

_ "Listen, I love that you protect me and everything, but I had that situation under control." _

_ Grant stood up, towering over Ashley. "Under control?! He kept touching you even when you said stop and when you tried to get away he pulled you right back to him. You _did not_ have that situation under control!" _

_ "Well…still, you shouldn't have resulted in violence to settle your problems!" _

_ "You sound like a damn teacher, Ash. And _my_ problems? Last time I checked, a guy trying to sexually assault you was _your _problem. But hey, next time something like that happens I'll just act like it didn't and stick my nose out of your business." _

_ "Grant, I'm not some damsel in distress, you don't need to save me all the time." Ashley said, sitting down on her bed as to get away from him. He had been standing chest to chest with her, which was intimidating since he was so much bigger. "This is, like, the fourth guy you've gotten in a fight with because of me." _

_ "I haven't lost yet, either," _

_ "I can take care of myself." _

_ "But…I like taking care of you." Grant's voice got soft and cracked. He glanced down at his shoes, a blush creeping on to his cheeks even though he tried to hide it. He'd expected Ashley to get angry at him (she seemed to be getting tired of him taking care of her problems for her) but it still hurt his feelings. He wanted her to appreciate what he did for her, and he feared that she actually enjoyed the attention she got from other guys, no matter how unromantic and completely lust driven. Though she didn't want to, Ashley couldn't help but smile a little at Grant's expression. _

_ "I know you do, and I'm grateful for that. But you can't have me to yourself all the time and you can't protect me from every guy that tries to make a move on me. I'll have to grow up soon enough." _

_ Sitting beside her, Grant threw his arm over Ashley's shoulders and pulled her close to him, kissing the side of her head fearlessly. "You're just a little girl though," _

_ "I'm not the little girl you met in sixth grade," Ashley said as she toyed with Grant's jacket. "I'm actually quite grown up. I _am _president of student council, you know." _

_ "Yeah, I know." Grant laughed. "That just means you're a kiss-ass." _

_ "Oh shut up," she hit him in the side, giggling. _

**_XXX_**

"These people are smart," Ashley murmured to herself, sticking her knife in the dry ground once again, pulling it out and repeating the mind-numbing pattern to attempt to entertain herself while she took watch. Once again she was wondering why she hadn't thought of a prison to stay in when there were more survivors than just her and Grant. They could've started a community and actually had a life, they could've fallen in love and actually been able to settle down and start their own family. Ashley had to admit that she'd liked Grant for quite a while and-wait. She shook herself, deciding not to think about the feelings she had for her friend. They would only ruin the good team that they were.

The fire crackled at Ashley's feet, warming her toes. Even though Georgia was hot, it cooled down a lot at night and, since she was covered in sweat, Ashley got cold easily. To her the fire was a security system, too, because it gave enough light to protect them without needing to use up the batteries that the flashlights required, and it reminded Ashley of one of the vacations she'd taken with her family to a ski lodge in the sixth grade. She and Jake had sat by the fire in the lobby of their hotel late into the night, drinking hot chocolate and talking about everything.

She sighed at the memory, throwing her knife into the dirt she was sitting on with a little extra force. She wanted her big brother back; so what if he'd been overprotective and had sometimes gotten on her nerves? Ashley had never been without him and now, having to grow up and kill people that were dead but had come back to life, she missed her brother even worse than she had the one week that he went to camp during the summer of fifth grade-she'd barely gotten any sleep because she missed him so badly.

Ashley missed her parents, too. Her mother had always baked cakes for her children and, since she was a stay at home mom, had taken a keen interest in knitting everything that Ashley and Jake could ever use. Hats, scarves, sweaters, hats, socks, blankets, everything, she could make it. Her father, who was a successful doctor, would always help Ashley with her homework and would study late into the night with her. Sometimes they'd order pizza at three o'clock in the morning if they were on an all-night studying spree.

But mostly, Ashley missed the past. She missed wearing cute clothes, she missed gossiping with her friends at the mall, she missed listening to music, she missed reading, she missed hiking for _fun_, she missed band class, she missed everything that had been her life before. She didn't know how long it'd been since she'd actually been able to sing like she used to in the shower or in the chorus room. There were no longer crowds to awe with her singing and flute playing abilities-she didn't even have a flute anymore and singing was too risky to do because it could attract unwanted attention. Ashley had even prepared to go on a singing show to try and get a record deal and possibly make a career out of her art, but the disease had taken over the world by the time she plucked up the courage. Now her only audience was Grant, and she figured he was used to what she was able to do and only found it a nuisance.

A stick cracked in the trees and Ashley whipped towards the sound, holding up her knife, ready to attack. Nothing came out to try and eat her. She wiped her brow wearily, staring up at the stars in the sky while she tried to remember constellations. She wanted desperately to recall something from the past, but she'd always had her books or her phone to help her with the stars, and now she could only use her mind. Stars with lines connecting them popped up in her mind, but no names appeared.

A fly landed on Ashley's shoulder and she swatted at it, making it buzz around her head. The fire popped and cracked when she prodded it with a stick. The prison was lifeless, everyone in it must've been asleep. She wished that she and Grant could live like those people: protected and nurtured. Again, Ashley started to think about the possible personalities that the people there could have. Likely there would be one specific leader, maybe a man or a woman, and they'd either welcome the teenagers in with open arms or they'd push them away. They might even kill them.

The rest of the group would probably go along with what the leader said. From what Ashley and Grant had observed the people in the prison worked seamlessly together, like they'd been a group for a while and knew what they had to do and who to take orders from. Ashley stared without really seeing at the barred up windows, tracing small circles in the dirt beside her.

She heard Grant start to stir and turned to him, pulling back the flap of the tent to see him. He didn't seem to be awake, he was just having a nightmare. Ashley chuckled to herself; having a nightmare in this nightmare of a world seemed ironic. When she went to sleep the good and bad dreams she had were bliss compared to the world she was living in.

A coyote howled in the distance and Ashley smiled grimly, remembering the one night in sixth grade that she and Grant had been in the woods that was near their church during a lock-in and had gotten so spooked by the coyotes that they heard that they cried. She shook her head and closed her eyes, shifting her position. Fatigue was starting to beat at the back of her head, invading her thoughts. She knew she'd have to sleep soon enough but she didn't want to give into that weakness. It was too human, too soft for this world she had to survive in.

Everything was constantly a struggle with adapting and learning to become the strongest version of a human you could be. Old folk tales and myths reminded Ashley of what she was trying to do-she was trying to cheat death. Just by breathing and having a conscious mind, much unlike the people that had to eat other people to survive, she and Grant and all the other survivors in the world were cheating death, cheating God.

_Mom would kill me for saying I was cheating God…doing something that He doesn't want is worse than her turning. _Ashley thought. She rarely missed the constant verses that her mother would spout and the hymns that she was forced to sing in front of the church. Every opportunity that her mother had to make her perform she would take advantage of. In her freshman year of high school, Ashley had to sing every song in the Christmas show that her church put on because her mother wouldn't have it any other way. She actually disagreed with the pastor, which was considered blasphemy to the Way family. Thinking about those petty problems that Ashley had stayed up late into the night thinking about in the past made her smile; back then, before everything had turned to Hell, things as stupid as that actually mattered and _bothered _her.

The sun started to peek over the edge of the horizon and Ashley felt actual happiness swell in her heart. The sun meant a new day was starting. A new day with new, better opportunities. Maybe she and Grant would be able to join the group today…no, that was wistful thinking. With her eyes trained on the pink sky tinged with orange, Ashley awaited the start of the new day.

**_XXX_**

"You went hunting yesterday, we don't need any more food," Grant told Ashley as he came back into the clearing, his hair wet and no shirt on. He'd gone down to a creek near them to wash up and, while he was gone, Ashley had decided she'd go on another little trip to kill squirrels and birds for meals. "How come you won't let me do anything like that?"

"Because we're like a pride-you know, what lions live in-I'm the lioness that does everything, and you just sit at the camp and look good, like a lion." She smirked and held out her hand, waiting for his bow, which was safely on Grant's back. "Besides, watching the prison is boring and I'm getting a good look at the land around us so we can use it if we need to."

"You plan too much," Grant muttered. He refused to hand over his weapon and instead walked around their small camp, staring down the ridge intently. Ashley stood next to him, trying not to stare at his stomach and chest. She noticed just how thin he'd gotten, and that worried her, but he still had the six pack and muscles he'd had before the world turned upside down.

"What do you think we should do?" she asked quietly, referring to the prison and the group in it. Grant sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I think we should take out some of the things that are around the fence to show them how useful we are," he pointed to the zombies lining the fence. Their moans were audible even though they were far away. "Then, if they still refuse to help us, I say we take our chances and jump the fence."

Ashley gasped and laughed. "It's barbed wire, Grant."

"I know, but we've survived worse."

"We won't have a good chance of fighting the group off if we're already cut up and bleeding out,"

"It's better than staying up here and watching all the time-at least we'll actually get to do something."

"Still…I dunno. Your crazy plan may actually work."

"Damn straight it might." Grant muttered, stretching his sore muscles. Sleeping on the ground all the time on top of pebbles and sticks was the worst for his back and he was constantly in pain, but he decided to not complain because Ashley-little, delicate Ashley-showed no signs of discomfort and he wasn't going to seem like the lesser of them. He glanced over at his friend and watched her stare at the prison. She seemed to interested in it, raptly paying attention to the building, that he suddenly wished he were more help with planning. It wasn't that he didn't care, it was that he couldn't bear to think about something too long because he got bored.

"So, who's going to be the house wife?" Ashley asked, back to joking. Grant smirked and looked down at his shoes, wondering if he should put his shirt on. The only reason he was going without it was because he wanted Ashley to stare at him, possibly lust after him. So far it didn't seem to be working….

"You. I'll be the breadwinner, like I'm supposed to be,"

"Sexist much?!"

"Yeah,"

Ashley laughed and shook her head, placing her hands on her hips. "No wonder I'm the only girl that stuck around."

"Oh, that hurts, Ash," Grant put his hands over his heart as though he were in pain and grimaced. "You never knew how to treat a guy right. Maybe that's why you're _so_ inexperienced when it comes to that field."

"You think _I'm _inexperienced with guys?" she laughed heartily. "Please, I may have been sheltered, but I'm no stranger to guys."

"Have you even had your first kiss?" he teased, mocking her stance by putting his hands on his hips and tilting them to the side. Ashley blushed and stood up straight, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why yes I have."

"Who?"

"None of _your_ business!" she cried, making Grant laugh.

"I feel it is my business! Come on, spit it out and tell me." He grabbed her wrists and pulled her towards him, grinning at her blush. To his surprise he saw Ashley run her eyes up and down his torso a couple of times; his smile got even bigger. "It's not like it's that big a deal. I'll tell you mine, if that'll make you feel any better."

Ashley bit her lip and glared at him, rolling her eyes with a huff of anger. "You tell first."

"You were." Grant blurt out, trying to act like it was no big deal even though his heart was hammering against his chest and he was sure Ashley could feel it. Her mouth dropped and she let out another breath, but this one was relaxed.

"Glad I didn't have to say that first," she laughed. "Ditto."

"I thought you had your first kiss in fourth grade? That's what Ashwin told me in seventh grade, that you and Barry kissed."

"No, Barry just decided he'd spread the rumor that I kissed him to try and get more girls…it didn't work, obviously. But yeah, in seventh grade you were my first kiss."

"I was the best you've ever had," Grant puffed out his chest jokingly.

Moving away from him, Ashley shook her head and grabbed a branch, swinging from it slowly. Her feet were barely off the ground, but she didn't seem to care. "No, I think that was your best friend."

"Bitch,"

"You're just jealous," she jeered, smirking. Grant smiled and chuckled; he'd never admit it, but that had stung. "Now put your shirt on, lover boy. The last thing you need is for a pack of zombies to come through and catch you half naked."

"At least we're not like them," he jabbed his thumb in the direction of the guard tower, where the two people had sex. "Can you imagine having to fight _completely naked_?" he shivered as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. "That'd be terrifying."

"Your manhood on the line along with your life…" Ashley sighed, swinging herself over so she was hanging upside down on the branch of the tree. "That could be the line of a song or a deep poem."

Grant laughed and kicked up a bit of dirt with his toe, glancing up at the sky. "You're just as weird as you were in school. I don't get why you were such a prize."

"Because I have boobs, a butt, and a brain. That's the trio that sells it all," Ashley nodded knowingly, her hair hanging in a sheet behind her head. Her face was slowly turning red from all the blood rushing to her head but she didn't seem to realize or care. "But hey, that life is over! Now I'm all yours,"

"Oh joy," Grant said sarcastically, but, on the inside, he was beaming.


	6. Chapter 5

**Five**

_Grant smiled as he watched his little brothers play with their small army figures. They made noises that were supposed to be guns and engines revving up, pushing trucks full of small tan and green men around on the carpet. Mary strode through the room in Nike sweatpants and her volleyball sweatshirt, her hair up in a bun on the top of her head. She glanced down at her little brothers, the corners of her lips pulling up into a smile. She came and sat next to Grant on the couch. _

_ "They're getting pretty big, aren't they?" she asked, her voice quiet as to not disturb the boys on the floor. Grant nodded. _

_ "I remember when I used to play with those toys," he said. _

_ "Why don't you anymore?" _

_ Giving her a reproachful look, he started in a controlled, mature tone "Obviously I can't play with stuff like that anymore, Mary! I'm in sixth grade! Guys in sixth grade don't play with _toys_!" _

_ "I dunno, even adults…never mind, I shouldn't even go there." She laughed quietly to herself, not caring to explain what she'd meant to Grant, who didn't understand. Shrugging, Mary brushed Grant's bangs out of his eyes and smiled warmly at him. "Excited for Santa to come?" _

_ "You don't have to tell me he's real," he growled, tired of the games that his mother and his sister put him through each Christmas. He'd been informed at school that Santa wasn't real, and he was tired of listening to his family lie to him. "I know he's not." _

_ "Well who told you that?! Grant, do you honestly think I'd lie to you about something as important as Santa?" _

_ "Stop acting like he's real!" he yelled, grabbing the attention of William and Dylan. Mary spun her hand, motioning for them to turn around, which they did, though they were obviously listening. Grant's voice dropped so that his brothers couldn't hear him. "I know he's not…" _

_ Gently, Mary grabbed his hand and looked him seriously in the eyes. "Grant, I'm telling you, Santa is real. Do you think mom and dad could afford all our gifts _and_ put them under the tree without us knowing?" he didn't respond, and Mary nodded triumphantly. "Exactly. This year you and I can even stay up together and wait for him, just so you know I'm not lying." _

_ "Fine." _

**_XXX_**

"I miss the beach," Ashley murmured as she dumped cool water over her head from the creek near her and Grant's camp. Grant was currently watching the camp while Ashley went for a wash. Just clad in her underwear and her bra, she scrubbed her arms and legs, cupping her hands to collect water and try to clean her stomach and back. She felt disgusting as she saw the dirt and dried blood that had been on her wash off and run into the creek. "The forest is so _boring_."

With her knife only a few inches from her, Ashley felt no threat to being thoroughly exposed. She doubted that people would or could come near her, and she could take care of a zombie if it found its way to her. She dipped her legs into the running water, sighing with her eyes closed as it relaxed her tense muscles, and pulled her hair loose, allowing it to fall over shoulders.

The day was hot and muggy, just like most of them. Ashley knew she'd never be totally dry because of the humidity and that bothered her. She wanted to winter to come for the clean, brisk air and the snow that it could bring, but she also knew that, if the group in the prison didn't let them join, she and Grant would probably die. They couldn't survive _another_ winter in the wilderness, it just wasn't in them.

_"Tale as old as time, _

_"True as it can be, _

_"Barely even friends,_

_ "Then somebody bends,_

_"Unexpectedly,_

_ "Just a little change,_

_ "Small, to say the least,_

_ "Both a little scared,_

_ "Neither one prepared,_

_ "Beauty and the Beast." _Ashley sang to herself, wiggling her toes, childishly giggling as small fish swam past her feet and stopped to nibble on her toes. It felt good to sing, exhilarating almost; since she hadn't done it in so long her voice cracked on the notes that she'd used to hit with ease, but she still felt great singing. Ashley knew that she needed to get back to camp to make sure that there was enough protection, but she couldn't bring herself to stand up and get dressed. For some reason Ashley just wanted to sit in her underwear at the edge of the creek all day, watching the water bend around rocks and fish race past her.

Back at their camp Grant was whittling a stick. He wasn't really paying attention to it, just using it as something to keep his hands busy while he kept his eyes trained on the prison. The thought that Ashley should have been back by now kept running through his head, distracting him from his task, which was watching the prison for activity. Either everyone in there was dead or they just didn't want to come out and enjoy the fresh air. Snorting, Grant shook his head. Fresh air? It felt like he was in an oven, nothing about the outside was fresh.

_Ashley should be back by now,_ Grant thought to himself. She said she was going to wash up and that she'd be back in ten or fifteen minutes, but it seemed like it'd been much longer than that. Worried for his friend, Grant stood up and drew his bow, nocking an arrow as he started to creep into the cover that the trees provided. Yes, he felt stupid for leaving the camp unprotected, but Grant figured that Ashley's safety and wellbeing were more important than their supplies.

The stream that he and Ashley used for bathing was a short walk from their camp and Grant didn't hear his friend's voice or the melodic sound of her singing, so he started to walk a little faster, his heart speeding up. Shoving a briar bush to the side and stepping past it while pulling back the string on his bow, Grant swept his eyes up the stream.

"So much for privacy," Ashley growled, grabbing her shirt from the rock it was lying on. She was only in her underwear, and Grant blushed heavily, turning away from her, wanting to kick himself; of course she was fine. The one time he actually showed up when he needed to he ended up walking in on his best friend-the girl he had a major crush on-half naked. "Did something happen?"

Grant was glad to hear that Ashley had converted to her nicer tone of voice-she sounded like she didn't care he'd seen her without any clothes on. She wasn't completely naked, but Grant couldn't get how she looked out of his head. He'd always appreciated his friend's curves, but he'd never realized howmuchhe _should've_ appreciated them; they made her a thousand times hotter. The curve of her calf as it went up to meet her thigh, the curve from her thigh to her hips, her hips to her waist, her waist to her breasts, all of it was beautiful. Grant guessed he hadn't really paid attention to her when they went swimming together, which didn't make much sense. Then he remembered that Jake had always been chaperoning, and he wasn't allowed topay much attention to Ashley or he'd get punched.

"I'm sorry, I just thought you'd been gone too long and I started to worry," he murmured, awkwardly shuffling his feet in the dirt. Ashley laughed a bit and turned him around, shrugging.

"It's cool. You've seen me in a bikini before, there's no difference." She breezed. Grant was surprised that she seemed not to care, but he liked it. Now he wouldn't feel so bad about savoring the sight of her like that.

_ Pervert, _he scolded himself. Even though he felt like he shouldn't be thinking about Ashley the way he was, Grant couldn't help it. Again, he was awed by the female body, just like he was the first time he saw a Playboy magazine. But, unlike the girls in the magazine, he found Ashley's body much more fascinating, and he doubted he'd get grounded for staring at her.

They started back to their camp, Ashley complaining about her wet hair sticking to her neck and Grant obediently listening to her with a hidden smile at her insignificant problems. Pushing a branch back for Ashley politely, Grant let her pass him to get back in the clearing. She turned to watch him follow her out, smirking at the small blush his cheeks still sheltered. They felt completely at peace as they sat around their camp, watching the prison together while they talked.

**_XXX_**

"There's a group up there, Rick," Daryl hissed, casting his blue eyes down at the plate in his hands. He felt the air between him and Rick harden. "I saw a fire the other night on the top of the ridge."

"You sure?" his voice was low, deadly. Daryl nodded and glanced back up to look his friend in the eyes, setting his spoon down and ignoring his cold dinner that Carol had given him and Rick before she went to bed.

"Yeah. I think we should get a group together and go take 'em out,"

Rick sighed worryingly and turned to look out of the barred windows of the prison, running a hand over his beard while he collected his thoughts. "I guess tonight is as good a night as any. Could you tell how many there are?"

"Two, ma'be three, it's hard to tell. I know one of 'em was watching us the other day (I saw 'im walking around) and he looked like a teenager. I don't think they'll be much of a threat, Rick,"

"Well we're not taking chances," he growled, standing up. Daryl looked at his meal longingly, but he followed Rick's example and stood up, throwing his crossbow on his back to have it ready. "I'm gonna go get Glenn and Maggie, you stay here and watch out the window for activity."

"Alright," he stood and strode over to the window, spying the fire that the idiots on the ridge made. Honestly, didn't these people understand that humans and walkers alike could see where they were and attack? Daryl scoffed at them quietly, shaking his head and looking into the prison. It was odd how much the grey, blood splattered building seemed like a home to him. Yes, terrible things had happened there and people that he'd never forget had died there, but he figured that it was part of the life cycle. After losing Sophia Daryl seemed to come to terms with the fact that people were going to die. It was going to happen whether he liked it or not, so he figured he'd better get used to it.

Soft steps alerted Daryl's sensitive ears and he turned to see Rick leading Maggie and Glenn, who were already wide awake, towards him. They had their weapons on them and they looked like warriors. Ever since they'd been taken to Woodbury and tortured they were much more serious and seemed ready to fight at a moment's notice. Everyone exchanged a look while Rick informed the others of what was going on.

"There are people watching us up on the ridge-we need to take care of them." It was as simple as that; Maggie and Glenn didn't ask any questions because they didn't need any more information, what Rick said was what they were to do because it was the best thing for the group. They all believed that, and their survival depended on the obedience that the entire group distributed.

"Are we gonna kill 'em?" Daryl whispered as Rick locked the doors behind him. In one of the windows stood Carl, an expressionless look on his face; his father had told him what they were going to do and he knew that he needed to be on watch, just in case something happened.

"If we need to,"

The group silently moved through the shadows of the prison yard, a tight formation keeping them together, their eyes on the large flames that flickered in the trees. How everyone hadn't noticed it before was a mystery to them, but they were glad for Daryl's sharp eyes, otherwise this threat would've gone unnoticed. Continuing on their path, they noiselessly took out walkers that stood in their way. There weren't many of them, but their unrelenting growls and snarls made the group fear that the people on the ridge would hear them and flee or attack. Rick's gaze never left the fire that was on the top of the ridge, adrenaline rushing through him. He refused to let _another _group threaten the safety of his loved ones.

**So, since The Walking Dead is on a break, it's obviously very difficult to know where the show is going to end up, who's going to live, just what's going to happen in general. Since I don't know what's going to happen, my story may differ from that of the show's when it starts up again. Once I can start watching and know what's going on I'm going to shape my story to fit the show's so, right now, please forgive me if the two storylines conflict. Thanks for reading! **


	7. Chapter 6

_**Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been super busy and super tired and kinda lazy...but yay, it's finally here! I hope you enjoy and if you don't, please leave a review and tell me how I can improve my writing!**_

_**Thanks!**_

_**Lucy**_

**Six **

Grant stuck his hands out in front of him, trying to let the fire warm them. His body told him it would be okay to eat a little of the food that he and Ashley had in their bags, but he refrained because he knew that he'd feel guilty afterwards because he couldn't offer any to Ashley. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the rumbling of his stomach and the ache it sent through his bones. He _hated _being hungry, he hated how thin he'd gotten, and, most of all, he hated that it seemed to affect Ashley ten times worse.

She slept soundly, her slow, gentle breathing making Grant's eyes heavy. How badly he wanted to crawl into their shelter and wrap his arms around her, making her feel safe and secure, and sleep. He closed his eyes again, feeling tired. Malnourishment and the warmth of the fire seemed to make his eyes too heavy to open, and both of those factors made him believe that he and Ashley were safe, that no one nor anything was going to bother them. Lying on his back, Grant pulled his knife towards him for protection, then, just like he used to do on the couch at his house, he fell asleep, hard.

**_XXX_**

"GRANT!" Ashley's shriek made him jerk awake and he grabbed his knife, holding it out even though he had no idea what he was doing or where he was. Blood surged through him, alerting his sluggish mind and sending it into hyper drive, trying to figure out what was going on while he collected his bearings. The embers of their fire gave him just enough light to see his friend's writhing body being thrown to the ground by a large person.

"Ash-?!" before he could do anything, something hard was slamming to the top of his head, causing white spots to swim before his eyes. He felt too dizzy to stand, and a kick to the stomach did nothing to help that. Turning over on his side, Grant started to cough, tasting blood in the back of his throat as he did. _Shit_, he thought numbly to himself, blinking hard to try and figure out what was happening. _Shit. Shit. Shit. _

"Shut up!" a gruff voice snarled to Ashley. Hearing skin connect with skin made Grant's senses heighten: someone hit her. Still not able to see, he forced himself to all fours and tried to stand, but his legs gave out from under him. His entire body trembled with the effort of standing and moving.

"GET OFF ME! GRANT-NO STOP!" Ashley was screaming so loud she was sure to attract unwanted attention from the zombies around them. A shot went off, a sound that was unbearable to Grant's ringing ears, and he shook himself, mouthing his friend's name over and over, realizing that no sound would come from him.

A hand grabbed Grant's shoulder and threw him over to his back, putting him into another painful coughing fit. Someone's foot landed on his chest to keep him down. Numbly, Grant tried to reach for his knife, but he couldn't find it near him. "Rick, walkers!" the person above him-a female-shouted. Her foot lifted from Grant's chest and he, once again, rolled over so he was on his hands and knees. His vision was clearing and he saw metal glinting on the ground; lunging for it, his fingers retracted around the cold hilt of his knife. He could see the outlines of people, some of them were holding guns and shootings other ones that were coming into the clearing. Grunts and snarls filled Grant's ears, and he realized that zombies were getting dangerously close to him.

"Take them with us!" a man shouted as more shots were fired into the air. Grant could smell zombies and he could hear their snarls, but he couldn't bring himself to stand up-the pain that the people ambushing he and Ashley had caused was too great. Someone seized Grant's arm and pulled him up, starting to sprint down the ridge with him. It was all he could do to stand, so the person was mostly dragging him.

"Do you wanna get bit? Run!" the person with the cruel voice that he'd heard before was the one pulling him along. Grant tried to respond by increasing his speed, but he couldn't force himself to go any faster, his body was already screaming for him to stop.

"Rick," a woman cried. "Rick there's too many walkers!"

"In formation!" a man commanded, his voice one of a leader. Grant felt the man that was dragging him shove him into the middle of a circle of bodies, and he could feel sweat and hear peoples' hard breathing, wincing every time a gun was fired into the night air.

"Grant, are you alright?" Ashley's voice was high and harsh with fear, and he felt her small hands latch on to his arm. All he could do was nod weakly, relived that she was okay. "Oh shit,"

Though he knew it was going to be his death, Grant's body seemed to fail him. His head went light, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his body went limp. Ashley screamed and tried to hold him up, but his dead weight was too much for her. The group around them stopped moving at Ashley's shrill warning, all of the adults cursing and popping off shots, killing zombies with lightning speed and efficiency. More of the dead than could be counted continued to swarm, and hope seeped out of everyone.

**_XXX_**

"They're just kids," Carol hissed to Rick as he stared down at the table the group was surrounded at. Hershel nodded, agreeing with Carol. Carl, who had snuck into the meeting when he was supposed to be in bed, looked to his father to see how he should be reacting to the situation. Personally, the child thought that they should throw the two teenagers out; he had no sympathy for anyone that could put people he cared about in danger. But, miming his father, he kept an emotionless look on his face. "They're not a threat. They're scared and underfed and they seem like they could be a good asset. That girl saved your life _while _carrying her boyfriend."

"Exactly, that makes her plenty dangerous," Rick said, looking in Carol's eyes defiantly. She sighed and rolled her eyes, throwing her hands in the air and turning to Hershel to back her up.

"Rick, I talked to Ashley and Grant, they don't have anyone else or anywhere else to go. They need us; we can't just leave them to die."

"We can send 'em on their way with their food an' supplies an' they'll be set," Daryl provided, siding with Rick like he usually did. "We can't take no more people in."

"Why not? They're good people, Rick. I talked to them for hours! Ashley had to witness her family's death, her brother was shot right in front of her! Grant's family was eaten and he had to watch that. They've been through so much…" Carol grabbed Rick's hands and held them between hers, forcing him to look at her. "They need our help and I say we give it to them."

"And jeopardize the group's safety?" he shook his head and wrenched his hands out of Carol's grasp. She looked at him with pleading eyes, then, when she saw that he wasn't going to back down, she turned to Daryl.

He sighed. "Rick an' I can talk to them…" he exchanged a glance with Rick and then went back to looking at his hands. "We'll figure out what to do."

"Fine," Carol spat, spinning around on her heel to go back to her cell. "But just remember, these kids could do a lot of good, and you'd be killing them by sending them back out there."

"I think you all will make the right decision," Hershel consoled, following the two men as they marched towards the cell that their prisoners were being held in. They could hear Grant's voice and Ashley's chuckling as Hershel veered off, going to tend to Judith. Daryl snuck a look at Rick.

"Whadd'ya think?" he asked in an undertone.

"I think we should just talk to them-see if they're worth keeping."

**_XXX_**

****Ashley sat beside Grant on the ground, leaning back against the dirty, aged wall that belonged to the room that the group had given to her and Grant until they decided what to do with them. His head was lolling on to her shoulder and he was talking about nothing quietly to her, awaiting the return of their captors. Ashley placed her hand on Grant's leg, and his voice came to a slow stop.

"When they come and talk to us, behave. Please." She told him, putting her hand on his cheek, which had a large cut on it from where he fell on a sharp rock after getting hit with a gun, so that she could move his head to make him look her in the eyes. "They could've left us when you fell, but they protected us, so try not to make them hate us."

"Do you think I'm the weak link?"

"Well you're not exactly the best at conveying your emotions politely when you speak, it's more like _'You'd better do this or I'll kill you!'_, then you end up in a fight."

"Sometimes that's the best way to get what you want…. And it doesn't help that they ambushed us!" Grant mumbled. Ashley laughed quietly, wincing when her lip, which was busted, broke open again.

"No, no fighting now. Maybe it'd be best if I did most of the talking, yeah?"

Thinking about it, Grant nodded and placed his head back on his friend's shoulder, closing his eyes as his head started to pound again. He'd been feeling faint ever since he had regained consciousness. "I don't think I can put together a coherent thought now, anyways,"

"That's a nickel word!" Ashley giggled, referring back to the deal that she and Grant had in school: each time one of them said a 'good, smart word' they were rewarded with a coin. Pennies were for small words that only made one sound smart enough to get through elementary school, nickel words were ones that sounded like a particularly intelligent eighth graders, dime words were ones that you'd hear in a high school AP English class, and quarter words were the highest you could get, and they were usually words that someone would only use on a dissertation that was so good it could only be written by Stephen Hawking or someone of his intellect. Grant grinned and sat up straight.

"Well, I would say cough up the money, but I don't think you have any, nor do I figure it would be of any use to me in this world."

"You're just killing it with the vocabulary!"

"I didn't use any good words, though."

"Well, you phrased your sentence nicely…"

Grant smiled and rubbed his forehead, feeling it start to throb again. "Thanks, but I doubt I'll be able to do that under pressure."

"What kind of pressure are you going to be under?" Ashley asked, running her palms over her thighs, grimacing when she noticed the tiny rips that checkered her jeans. "It's not like you're giving a speech to be president."

"Yes, all you zombies out there, elect me, Grant Taylor, as your president! No, no, stop! What're you doing?!" he clapped his hands once. "Then I'm gone, eaten by my supporters. I don't think I'd do too well as a president nowadays."

"You may have to worry about more than the economy." Ashley thought out-loud, smiling to herself. Why they were talking so easily, joking about death by consumption of the living dead, she had no idea, but it felt good to lighten the mood that was given off by the prison. Everything was grey and dirty, and the wall in front of Ashley and Grant had a huge blood stain on it that made them want to throw up. Earlier, around four o'clock in the morning when the group that had captured Ashley and Grant came running through the prison with Grant unconscious and Ashley screaming bloody murder, there had been a flurry of activity: a doctor coming and making sure Grant wasn't going to die, a very muscular man cursing as he told Ashley to shut up, a young boy running out with a pistol drawn as he stared at the new people, and, the one thing that made Ashley quit screaming, the piercing crying of an infant, but now almost everything was silent.

The dream of the prison seemed to crash in front of the two when they were allowed in it. They were prisoners of a group of prisoners. The prison wasn't the oasis that they'd imagined, it was terribly frightening and the group that they thought would accept them had locked them into a cell without food and without speaking to them. Ashley felt guilty that she'd been so naive to think that these people would let them join without even thinking about it.

Grant felt even guiltier than her. If he hadn't of fallen asleep then he would've been able to tell Ashley that people were coming, and they could've done something to stop them from being captured. They wouldn't be sitting on a repulsive floor covered in bruises and cuts from their fight, they'd still be in their camp with each other as company and their eyes on the prison, which was still uncharted territory and something they'd get into when they wanted to. They would have their fate in their own hands, not those of strangers.

Footsteps met the teenagers' ears and they turned towards the door of their cell, waiting for whoever was coming to appear. Grant knew what he needed to do-shut up and let Ashley do the talking-and Ashley knew what she needed to do-make them seem like people the group needed to keep. A man with black hair and a scruffy beard appeared, accompanied by the same muscular man that had been screaming over Ashley earlier, trying to get her to stop shrieking. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and he seemed dirtier than the floor that the teenagers were sitting on.

Silence stretched, Ashley unwilling to break it because she didn't want to seem weak. Grant stared at the men, wondering if he'd be able to take them in a fight, if it came to that. He seriously doubted it. Finally, the buff, dirty guy grunted "Y'all gonna keep sittin' on the floor or are ya gonna stand up and talk ta us?"

"Sorry," Ashley muttered, standing up pulling Grant up with her. She moved over to the bars of the cell and wrapped her tiny fingers around them, giving the two men her best smile; they didn't seem impressed. "Well, what do you want to hear?"


	8. Chapter 7

**Three weeks later **

**Seven **

_"Hush-a-bye you sweet little baby,_

_ "And don't you cry anymore, _

_ "Daddy is down at the stockbroker's office, _

_ "A-keeping the wolf from the door. _

_ "Nursie will raise the window shade high, _

_ "So you can see the cars whizzing by. _

_ "Home in a hurry, each daddy must fly, _

_ "To a baby like you._

_ "Hush-a-bye you sweet little baby, _

_ "And close those pretty blue eyes. _

_ "Mother has gone to her weekly bridge party, _

_ "To get her wee baby the prize. _

_ "Nursie will turn the radio on,_

_ "So you can hear a sleepy-time song, _

_ "Sung by a lady whose poor heart must long, _

_ "For a baby like you!" _Ashley finished quietly, rocking baby Judith in her arms gently. She smiled as the baby giggled and grabbed at her hair, clutching it painfully. Everyone was eating dinner, crowded around the small 'dining room', and their voices were silenced as soon as Ashley had started singing. She glanced up at them, blushing and smiling shyly, her eyes going to Grant's face first. Just like he always used to look at her chorus concerts, his eyes sparkled and he had a smile on his face that told her she'd been perfect, even if she'd missed a couple notes. Everyone else seemed pleasantly surprised.

"I didn't know you could sing," Daryl said as he ate his food, staring at Ashley with a small smirk. She shrugged and looked down at Judith again, a bit uncomfortable with the attention everyone was giving her.

"I wouldn't say that I'm that good…"

"Not that good?!" Grant laughed. "Please, Ash, don't kid yourself; you're better than you think."

She shrugged and offered Judith her bottle, leaning against the table so her back wouldn't hurt from being hunched over for so long. She and Grant had been accepted by the group that had taken over the prison and they had worked hard to prove they were worth keeping, from doing all the cleaning to clearing out a hallway that a few loose zombies (or what the group called walkers) roaming around it. Ashley felt that she and Grant had gotten Rick to trust them and, with his trust, they had the entire groups.

"We should have a talent show and Ashley can be the main star," Rick said as he ate. Ashley laughed to herself and suddenly remembered the first look at Rick she'd gotten: a large, startling man holding a gun in her face. Now that she'd been able to spend some time with him and had talked to him, she found that she enjoyed his company. He could be morbid and too serious at times-always thinking of the group instead of himself and his happiness-but he was a nice guy that had everyone's best interests at heart and was under a lot of pressure to keep everyone safe. Ashley felt completely at ease around him because he reminded her of Jake. Rick held Ashley to high esteem, partly because she worked so easily with both of his children and because she was able to be mature and help him make tough decisions.

"That'd be hell with e'erybody else tryin'a sing," Daryl, joked. He was a buff, usually dirty man with pretty blue eyes and a scruffy beard, had also become someone that Ashley went to for good conversations. Even though she'd pegged him as a hick, he was actually very funny and nice, when she was able to get through his barrier of sarcasm and sneers she found that she actually enjoyed his company. They had to go on a hunting trip together because the group was running low on food and, come on, fresh meat was a treat. Since Ashley was proficient at using a bow and Grant was still bedridden, she'd been chosen to go with Daryl because they had the only silent weapons that could take down an animal. Over the trip, they'd talked and figured out that they could not only deal with one another, but they liked being around each other. Ashley, being the nice girl that anyone could get along with, had made Daryl like her in a matter of hours, which seemed like an impossible feat. By the time the two arrived back at the prison, they both considered the other a friend.

Grant had to stay in bed for a week because, after Rick and Daryl agreed to let him and Ashley join, he'd had another fainting spell; Hershel (a portly man with a white beard and kind face), the group's doctor, had constantly been checking up on him and taking care of him. They had become close by picking at each other, Grant would make a snarky comment about Hershel only being one-legged, and Hershel would shoot one right back about Grant acting like the girl between he and Ashley. The elderly man was also friends with Ashley, since they spent so many nights and days sitting at Grant's bedside, waiting for him to wake up and heal.

"I know Beth can sing," Carl, Rick's son, mentioned as he glanced over at her. He had seemed weary of the new additions to his group-he refused to look at Ashley or Grant for an entire week. Then, one night that he was trying to calm his little sister down, Ashley had come to his rescue, taking the child from his arms and holding her close while she sang to her. Judith had fallen asleep almost immediately, and Carl decided that he liked Ashley from then on. Of course, her pretty face only helped her. He didn't enjoy Grant much, though, because he didn't like the attention Ashley gave him.

Beth, a tall blonde girl and the only other teenager in the group, on the other hand, adored Grant (she had developed a crush on him after seeing him well for the first time) and didn't fare well with the idea of another young girl around. She would chat with Grant every time she saw him, flirting as best she could, but then Ashley would come by and join their conversation and she'd shut down, usually leaving as soon as she could. She smiled softly at Carl's mention of her talent and thanked him quietly.

Carol, a woman with short grey hair and kind eyes and manner, liked both Grand and Ashley. She and Ashley had bonded over washing clothes in the hot sun, talking about their past lives as positively as they could and joking about the boys in the prison, who, at the time, were having a competition to see who could do the most pushups (Daryl won). Grant usually sat by Ashley when they ate, so he'd starting talking to Carol since she too sat next to Ashley. He would start cracking jokes about himself and Ashley would say something smart, then Carol would continue the playful conversation, making all of them laugh while they ate.

Michonne was the quietest of the group. She was a tall, muscular African American woman that had dreadlocks and used a large sword to kill walkers with. She didn't socialize much, and the few times that Grant or Ashley had tried to talk to her she'd brushed them off and had ignored them. They figured that she would warm up to them eventually if they didn't push, so they kept their distance.

"I'm pretty sure I'd out-sing _all _of you!" Glenn, a smart, nice, young Asian man, joked as he puffed out his chest. He had decided that he liked Grant when they'd been capturing them. That kid had taken a gun butt to the head, a kick to the stomach, and a boot resting on his windpipe and _still_put up a reasonably good fight, and Glenn knew how hard that was. Ashley had punched him in the face the first time that he met her, but they'd gotten past that and now acted like brother and sister, picking on each other good-naturedly and singing show tunes together-which Glenn, though it embarrassed him to say it-knew a lot of. Maggie, Hershel's oldest daughter, was also a fan of the teenagers, but she only talked to them if they were with other members of the group.

Coleman, a nineteen year old that had joined the group when they had tried to stay in the CDC in Atlanta, hadn't had much to do with the two. Grant had recognized him as the guy that he'd observed tossing bodies in the prison yard into a pile. He had blonde hair and was very tan from spending so much time in the Georgia sun. Grant usually spotted him with his blue eyes on Ashley, always watching to with such a concentrated energy it was a bit creepy. As soon as they met, both of the boys didn't like each other. Coleman wanted Ashley and Grant felt he needed to protect her from him since he was three years older and seemed to only have one thing in mind: sex. The only people in the group that seemed to actually like him were Beth and Glenn. Looking down at his plate, he murmured with a slight smirk, "Because you're so talented, Glenn."

Everyone dispersed slowly, talking and joking quietly as their full stomachs started to make them tired. Ashley and Grant collected plates-a chore they'd taken up immediately so the group would find them useful-having a low conversation. Coleman was still sitting at his table, watching Ashley like she couldn't see him, and, when she came over and held out her hand for his plate, he smirked. "I liked your singing, it was good."

"Thanks," Ashley smiled timidly, averting her eyes from Coleman's as she walked back to the bucket filled with soapy water that she and Grant were supposed to use to clean the dishes. Sitting down on the ground, Ashley slid the dishes into the water and waited for Grant to come next to her, wishing that Coleman would leave; he made her uncomfortable.

"Coleman," Beth's voice floated down the stairs, and he stood up, his large frame intimidating, moving up the stairs. Grant watched him go and he saw him turn around, looking down his angular nose and staring at Ashley like he always did, with obvious want in his eyes. Grant scoffed and turned around, wishing he could go and beat his face in. "Coleman, come here real quick."

The two washing the dishes discreetly watched him leave, letting out a deep breath simultaneously when he was out of their sight. "He is _so _creepy," Ashley whispered, giggling to try and lighten the mood. Grant nodded.

"I don't like him."

"I'm not a big fan of him either," she murmured as she scrapped a bit of dried food off of the plate in her hands, some hair getting in her eyes. Brushing it away with the back of her hand, she sighed when all it did was stick to her forehead, and continued to work. "But, we've gotta put up with him."

"I ain't gotta-"

"Excuse me?" Ashley stopped working and looked at Grant with one eyebrow raised. "What did you say?"

He rolled his eyes. "I _don't _have to work with him, and I _refuse_ to."

"That's better. But you _do_ have to work with him, and you _will_."

"Why? He's barely said two words to me, and I don't think he's exactly friendly towards you,"

"He's alright, just quiet. He's good at killing walkers, though, so I'd say we need to keep him around." The word _walker _now rolled off of Ashley's tongue when she thought of the living dead instead of _zombie_. Rick's group had christened the things such and so, when Grant and Ashley were accepted, they felt the need to learn the lingo.

"Well a lot of us are good at killing walkers…" Grant sat back on his haunches and stared at a glass in his hand. "My mom used to _hate _hard water. She'd go online and search for hours, comparing ingredients or whatever is used in those little packet things, trying to see which ones worked best. Then she'd go and look up home remedies, trying to get rid of it once and for all." He smiled, grimly remembering the past. "She kept telling us that she was gonna find a 'cure' for it and make a fortune because of it."

Ashley smiled and glanced at Grant from the side. "I remember that my mom used to always ask your how she got her glasses so clean, and then she'd try it at home and it never worked the same."

"My mom had a magic touch, that's for sure. But it only worked on things that didn't really matter."

"I wouldn't say that hard water stains don't matter,"

"Ash,"

"Okay, they don't. But before this all happened," she waved her hand around in a circle, motioning to the prison walls. "It was a pretty big deal."

Carl padded down the stairs with his eyes on his feet, a small bundle of clothes in his hands. Ashley and Grant watched him. "Carol wanted me to give you all your clothes," he muttered, handing a shirt and a pair of jeans to Ashley and some to Grant. "She washed them and repaired them for you all."

"Oh, thanks!" Ashley smiled and patted the small boy's back softly. "And tell Carol we said thanks, too."

"I will," he turned to go back up the stairs, but Ashley called to him.

"You want to play basketball tomorrow? You and me against Grant and Glenn?"

He grinned, glad that she was offering. "Yeah! That sounds fun."

"Okay," Ashley smiled again and watched Carl run up the stairs, back to the cell that he shared with his father and sister. Grant had his eyes on Ashley, the corners of his mouth pulling up at her beaming expression. "He's so sweet. I wonder what he was like before the outbreak…"

"Probably a whole lot more innocent,"

"Weren't we all?"

**_XXX_**

****Ashley peeled off her socks, rubbing her sore feet for a few moments before she started to unbutton her flannel shirt so that she could take off the tank top underneath. Grant took off his shirt, stretching, and undid his pants so that he was left in his boxers, which were his pajamas. They were in a comfortable silence in their cell, readying themselves for bed. Being in the prison meant that the two could sleep at the same time without having the worry about attack, a pleasure they hadn't experienced since they'd abandoned Grant's car.

Grant took a quick look at Ashley as she slid off her jeans, folding them neatly and setting them next to her bunk. She was starting to gain weight again, a good sign, and her legs were filling out along with the rest of her body, and she was getting back her curves. Her cheeks were starting to look fuller and her bones no longer stuck out so severely. Ashley's eyes were sparkling again, and Grant could tell that being around people made her feel better. He was glad that they were in the prison; what had first seemed like a terrible idea was now the only reason the two were alive. When they'd been on the ridge and Grant had fallen asleep the night that Rick's group ambushed them, a huge herd of walkers had been coming through, towards the prison. If Grant and Ashley hadn't been ambushed, they would have been eaten alive.

Knowing that there were more survivors helped both of their morals, too. Ashley had been devastated every time she and Grant would pass through a town and their search for others would come up empty. He knew that living with people other than him was good for her, and Grant guessed it was good for him too-sometimes he felt that he was becoming so secluded that he thought he wouldn't be able to function around anyone other than his friend.

"I'll see about getting us some more blankets tomorrow," Ashley said as she tucked her legs into the two blankets that covered the plastic mattress, only clad in her socks, underwear, and shirt. "This just isn't enough."

"It's warm enough," Grant muttered as he crawled next to his friend, lying down and feeling her small, cold hand on his chest. It was like this every night; they slept in the same bed, talking until one of them just wanted to sleep, then they would get up in the morning and try to ignore the snickers that were cast in their direction. For some reason everyone thought that they were a couple, like Glenn and Maggie, just because they shared a bunk. They found solitude in each other and that was all, there was never any touching other than Grant wrapping his arms around Ashley and her placing her head or hand on his chest.

"It won't be come winter. We'll have to start sleeping in jeans,"

"That's uncomfortable!" he whined.

"Which is why I'm going to get us more blankets," Ashley closed her eyes and snuggled into Grant's side, feeling secure when he wound his arms around her. "Goodnight Grant,"

He felt her slightly chapped lips on his arm, and he closed his eyes at her touch. Kissing the back of her neck softly, he closed his eyes too. "'Night Ash,"

**So they're finally with the group (yay!). That lullaby that Ashley is singing in the beginning is something I've sang before at a concert type of thing, and I absolutely love it, so I had to put it in there. I want to give a big thank you to Kayla, who is always reviewing my story and helping me out, which I ****_really_**** appreciate! Also, ScarletteJane is a big, big help to me, so thank you! Lastly, my friends Ashton and Chase who always read and tell me what they think. So thanks to all of you!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Eight**

"Personally, I thought tattoos and piercings were attractive, but my parents would've _killed _me if I brought a boy that had tats to them," Ashley reveled to Carol as they scrubbed a bit of blood off of the walls of the prison. The woman gasped and stared at Ashley.

"Seriously? I don't peg you as the type to like bad boys,"

"Well, for some reason I just really like the look of a hot guy with a sleeve of tattoos. It could've been my brother that made me that way, because he liked a bunch of metal bands and all the singers were covered in ink, so I grew up looking at guys like that." Ashley giggled and stared at the blood stain in front of her, trying to figure out which way was best to get it off. The entire group was cleaning the prison block they were housed in, trying to make it feel like a home.

Maggie came down the stairs, an empty wash bucket hanging from the crook of her arm. She smiled at Carol and Ashley, stopping to talk to them. "Does Grant have any tattoos?" she asked with a sly smirk on her face.

"I don't like Grant!" Ashley's face turned red and she spun around so she wouldn't have to look at the women, who were laughing at her. She pressed her sponge down on the wall as hard as she could, attempting to get the blood off. "I don't know _why_ you all continue to think that we're together!"

"Well, you share a bed," Carol started.

"And you sleep in your underwear," Maggie added.

"So what else are we supposed to think?" Carol finished, laughing at the teenager's blush.

"You're supposed to think that we're just friends, which we are. And how did you know that Grant sleeps in his underwear, Maggie?"

"The boys talk about everything, honey. They're worse than us!" she laughed and went back on her way, walking towards wherever she was going. Ashley could hear Rick and Hershel's voices a little ways away.

Carol pulled at the collar of her shirt, wiping sweat off of her brow as she leaned against the wall for a moment. "But really, Ashley, what's going on between you and Grant?"

"We're just _friends_. We sleep together-sleep as in, you know, snoring, eyes closed, not doing anything but resting-because we feel…safer. You know what I mean?"

"No," Carol's voice was soft and just a bit hurt, but she gave Ashley a small smile. "If you're sure there's nothing between you and Grant, I'll believe you. Stories go around quickly, though, and no one has secrets here."

"Everyone has secrets, Carol, some are just better at hiding them,"

"I guess, but we're a tight knit group; if one person does something, it affects all of us."

"I can tell that you all care about each other a lot," Ashley said as she dipped her sponge back into the water. "You all look out for one another. How long has this group been together?"

"Well, some of us have been together since the first part of the outbreak, then others joined about a year later, and some more just gathered. Then you and Grant came, and I figure that we're all a pretty close family now."

Ashley grinned. "I like thinking of us all as a family."

"I do too," Carol placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "I do too."

**_XXX _**

Beth walked outside with water bottles in both of her hands. She checked over herself before opening the door to the prison yard, wanting to make sure she looked alright before Grant saw her. She put a smile on her face and pushed the door open, walking out into the humid air. The sun beat down hard on the asphalt and Beth spotted Grant and Glenn sweeping trash into a pile, both of them sweating and shirtless.

"Hey guys," she called, staring at Grant's chest and stomach. She wanted to bite her lip, but she refrained.

"Ah, water," Glenn thanked her and took one water bottle, moving away from the teenagers and starting to sweep again. Grant, on the other hand, stayed by Beth to rest for a moment.

"Thanks Beth," he said as he took a long drink of the somewhat cold water. "We've been working on picking up garbage out here for hours, it's pointless."

"Well, the yard looks a whole lot better," she complimented, nodding.

Grant glanced around him, shuddering at the fence that still had walkers snapping at it. Beth stared at his muscles, blushing when Grant turned back around to talk to her; luckily he hadn't seen her gawking. "I think some of us should clear them so there's not a chance they could hurt us."

"Yeah, I'm not really sure why Rick hasn't killed them all yet…"

"Grant!" Glenn yelled, holding his arms out. "Come on, I'm not doing all your work!"

"Well, I'll talk to you later, Beth. Thanks again for the water!" Grant strode away, broom in hand, and Beth watched him go. He and Glenn talked as they swept, laughing at something one of them said, looking completely at ease. Grant glanced back to see Beth dart inside the prison, and he turned back to Glenn with a shake of his head. "She seems scared of me."

"I think she likes you," Glenn said, chuckling. "At least, that's what I've picked up, and you know I _am _a ladies man."

Laughing, Grant shook his head. "A ladies man? Glenn, there's barely any ladies around for you to woo."

"I have Maggie, and she's all I need,"

"How adorable," Grant murmured, sweeping up a bunch of papers that were in the yard. "You all deserve cutest couple award."

**_XXX_**

_ "Jeez Grant, how are you _this _bad at basketball?!" Jake jeered after he'd juked Grant out and scored. Ashley laughed and used the bottom of her t-shirt to wipe her brow as she grabbed the basketball from near the garage door, where it was bouncing to a slow stop. She started to dribble around Grant jokingly, sneering playfully with her brother. _

_ "You should see him in gym, Jake. He's the tallest guy there but he's the worst at basketball," she laughed. Grant rolled his eyes and shook his head with a grin. _

_ "My calling is elsewhere," _

_ "Yeah, in archery, the most useless thing _ever_." Jake laughed when Ashley pulled a move on Grant and shot the ball, making a perfect basket. _

_ "I wrestle too!" _

_ Ashley fetched the ball again, tossing it to Jake. "And our wrestling team is-what?-third from the lowest in the state?" _

_ "It's not my fault, I've only lost two matches." _

_ "I would say join the football team, but we have a pretty good record and I don't want an uncoordinated fool like you to screw us over," _

_ Grant was used to Jake and Ashley picking on him like this. Really, he didn't care; it made him feel even more comfortable around them and made him think that they were all siblings, able to make fun of one another and still come together at the end of the day and forget all the snarky comments that had been thrown around. Even though he was terrible at it, he always played basketball with Jake and Ashley when they offered just so he'd feel a little more included in their world. _

**_XXX_**

"CARL PASS!" Ashley pushed Grant away from her and caught the basketball that her teammate hurled at her, spinning around and shooting into the old hoop that was barely hanging on to the wall by its rusted screws. Dusk was falling and the group had called it a day on cleaning, so they were able to play basketball in their free time. Her shot hit the hoop, but it bounced off and didn't make it. Immediately Grant was dribbling, but Ashley was right on him.

Glenn marked Carl, blocking him from getting a pass, and Ashley was hindering Grant from taking a shot. He sneered at her, turning so his shoulder was on her chest to keep her away from the ball. "Come on Ash, get the ball. Can you? _No_, you can't, because I'm better than you."

"Better than me?" she laughed and slammed her shoulder against Grant's, causing him to lose the ball. "In your dreams."

Before she could shoot, Ashley felt two large hands on her hips, and she was yanked backwards. The basketball was still clutched close to her chest and she screamed girlishly, giggling while looking for Carl so that she could pass to him. He scurried past Glenn and yelled for the ball and Ashley tossed it to him, still in Grant's unrelenting hold. She looked at him with a large grin.

"This is a foul, you know."

"No it's not," he said.

"Well let me go so that I can beat your ass!"

"Guys, it's time to come in," Carol called, propping the door that lead inside open with her hip. Carl, Glenn, Ashley, and Grant trooped inside, wiping sweat from their faces and talking about their game, jeering and picking on each other. Carl sheepishly grinned at Ashley when she threw her arm over his shoulders, pulling him close to her side, neither of them caring that they were ridiculously sweaty.

"I think Carl and I were a team made in heaven!"

"We whooped your asses," he said quietly, earning a hearty laugh from the boys and a gentle smack on the back of the head from Ashley. "What?!"

She put her hands on her hips, feigning anger. "You don't say stuff like that!"

"Why not? You do,"

"Well I'm older. When you turn…sixteen, you're allowed to start cursing. But nothing terrible because you have to set an example for your little sister."

"Fine," Carl sighed, taking a seat next to his father, who was holding Judith. Ashley smiled at the Grimes before she went over to help Carol serve dinner. Beth sulked at her table, sitting next to Maggie, and she turned so she didn't have to watch Ashley socialize.

Daryl came in from outside, where he'd been trying to repair a broken fence, covered in sweat. He grabbed a towel from off a table and wiped off his forehead and neck, glaring at Coleman, who also came in with him. He marched over to Rick, sitting down beside him and casting another glare to Coleman, who sat beside Beth. "That kid is as annoying as hell,"

"He's part of the group," Rick murmured, calming Judith, whom had started crying, and Daryl, whom was bristling with anger and annoyance. "Put up with him."

"The only person that likes him is Beth, and that's 'cause she wants to sleep with him."

"Even if that's true, we all need to be agreeable. Just try and tolerate him," Rick held Judith in his arms, talking softly to her, but she continued to cry, her small hands beating on his chest. Sighing, he called "Ashley, will you come here?"

"Sure!" she bounced over while wiping her hands on her jeans. Gently taking Judith from Rick's arms, Ashley turned away from everyone and started to sing under her breath, something that always made the baby giggle or fall asleep. Though most of the group was talking, they quieted down to listen to the melodic tone of Ashley's smooth voice; Grant closed his eyes at the sound of it, going back in time to when she'd practice songs in front of him. When they would watch movies together she'd usually sing along with the songs in them-especially if they were Disney. Her voice made him relax.

_Grant sat down beside Ashley with a bowl of popcorn in his hands, setting it down on the table in front of them and propping his feet up on it. Ashley was helping him babysit his little brothers and, since the twins were in tucked away for the night, she had decided to put a DVD in the player and let Grant watch 'a real movie', since the ones that he watched had no singing in them and had the characters played real people instead of cartoon characters. _

_ "What's this movie about?" he asked, opening his Sprite and shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth. Though she put on a façade of healthy eating and good manners at school, Ashley was just as disgusting as Grant when it came to this kind of downtime, and she belched loudly after her first sip of her drink, also grabbing the large slab of cake she'd cut from the one she'd brought for the Taylor's. "You act like a man sometimes." _

_ "What can I say, the carbonation speaks to me." She grinned and took a bite of the fatty food, leaning against her friend as she pressed play on the remote. "But seriously, you've never seen_ Mulan_?" _

_ "Nope." _

_ "You poor, poor child! It's about…well, just watch it; it's amazing." _

"Grant, you just gonna sit there or are you going to eat something?" Ashley nudged his arm with her elbow, still holding on to Judith, and she nodded towards the food that Carol was serving. "Get two plates, please."

"Okay," Grant smiled at the sight of Ashley holding Judith, having it bring back memories of her with his little brothers and how well she worked with them. He always knew that she'd be a great mom, but now, in this hell of a world, he wasn't sure if she'd be able to be one. Besides, the only people that seemed like possible fathers were him and Coleman, and Grant refused to let Coleman touch Ashley. The thought of a pregnant Ashley-no, more of the knowledge of what she had to do to get pregnant, made Grant's insides do a little flip. He wasn't sure if it was good or bad, he only knew that it stuck in his head and he doubted it would be leaving any time soon. Grant smiled as he handed Ashley her plate and watched her handle Judith with the tender care that he was so used to seeing. It made him remember that, even though she was living in a world that had no room for someone to be loving, Ashley was still herself, and she wouldn't be changing any time soon.


	10. Chapter 9

**Nine**

_"ASHLEY NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" Grant stumbled forward, sinking his knife into the skull of the last walker in his sight. His hands fell on Ashley's still body, shaking her shoulders feverishly to try and get her eyes to open again. There was a gaping hole in her neck where the flesh had been ripped away by a walker and blood pooled around Ashley's head. There was so much of it, he was surprised that a human could contain the amount. _

_ Tears ran down Grant's dirty cheeks, making tracks in the dirt and blood that was splattered on him as he continued to shake his friend and he felt his entire body trembling with the harrowing sobs emitting from him. She was limp in his hands, the muscles that Grant was so familiar with weren't tensing like they usually did when Ashley would move. He sobbed, placing his filthy hands on her face tenderly. _

_ "Ash…no, please," his voice cracked pathetically. "I need you. Ash, please…"_

_ He turned away from her, pressing his mouth to his shoulder in an attempt to calm himself. Grant knew what he was going to have to do, and he picked up the pistol that Ashley had dropped. It was heavy. It felt like her life was in his hands, even though he knew Ashley was gone. Nothing he'd ever done could prepare him for this. He couldn't stop shaking. Should he wait for her to wake up so that he'd know she was truly dead, or should he kill her now? Every feeling he could have raged inside of him, making him a wreck. _

_ Reeling back so that he was on his knees, Grant pressed his hands to his eyes. Cries that seemed inhuman sounded from his mouth as he stared at his best friend, the girl that he'd secretly loved since sixth grade, dead and unmoving on the ground. Soon she'd start to move again, and she'd come for Grant, wanting to consume him. He had a fleeting thought that he shouldn't even put up a fight when she reawakened, he should just let her kill him so they'd still be able to be together. _

_ "Ashley please," he begged, crawling over to her. "Please don't do this to me. Please, please come back. Ash, I need you." _

_ At his voice, she started to stir. He sobbed harder, not ready to see his friend awaken. Her face twitched and her fingers started to scrape against the dirt and her chest moved up with a breath. Grant's grip tightened but loosened immediately on the pistol. How could he shoot his best friend in the head? Before he could think about it too much, Ashley's eyes snapped open, bloodshot and cold. She lunged towards him-_

**_XXX_**

"Grant," a hand was on his chest, shaking him softly. He turned. "Grant, wake up. You're having a nightmare, wake up. Grant, _wake up_."

He sat up straight, covered in a cold sweat, chest heaving with great breaths as his scared eyes looked all around him. A tired looking Ashley was sitting next to him, hair frizzy from being in the humidity all day, and eyes were wide. Consolingly, she placed her hand on his chest again.

"You alright?" she whispered. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes going to her neck which was (thankfully) whole. He grabbed her and pulled her to his chest, hugging her hard. She seemed a bit taken aback, but she patted his back consolingly. "Bad dream again?"

"Yeah," he breathed, not wanting to go into details. "But I'm fine."

"Really?" Ashley's hand moved up to rest on his heart, which was beating fast.

"Let's go back to sleep. I'm fine, I promise."

Ashley stared at him, obviously not believing his story, but she shrugged and laid back down. Grant took a moment to stare at the moon, which he could see through a barred up window, trying to control his breathing. He looked down at Ashley, running his hands through her hair without thinking about it. He'd always loved Ash's hair; it was so dark and had so much volume, and in school it had always been controlled by the heat of a straightener and a curling iron, but now it was completely itself, and he loved it even more. He focused on it, willing himself to memorize that one feature of her so he'd always be able to remember it, even if something happened to her.

Lying down, Grant pulled Ashley towards him. One of his arms was under her head and the other was around her waist. He felt her fingers curl around his hand and he closed his eyes at her touch, his muscles relaxing. "Please don't ever leave me." He whispered in her ear, his voice cracking.

"I won't, Grant." Ashley told him, her voice strong. "I won't _ever _leave you."

With that, he felt at peace. Grant slipped into a deep slumber, focusing on matching his breathing to the steady rise and fall of Ashley's chest.

**_XXX_**

"I'll bet you I can hit that walker," Ashley pointed to a particularly large walker that was at the fence of the prison. "From here with a rock."

"Betcha can't," Daryl challenged, kicking the chair he'd drug all the way to the prison tower on its two back legs and smirking competitively. "I've seen ya play basketball and I know ya can't hit nothin'."

Ashley scoffed. "Please, you've obviously mistaken me for Grant. I swear, you'd think that he'd be better at basketball because of his height, but he's the worst player I've ever seen!"

"He just plays to flirt wit' cha." Daryl said knowingly, nodding as he watched Ashley search for a pebble or loose piece of brick to throw at the walkers. Usually she was much more respectful of the undead and tried not to pay much attention to them, but being with Daryl seemed to bring out the childish and ruder side of her. She didn't care or think about the possible feelings of the walkers or of the guilt that should've riddled her with her antics. She just thought about the odd pleasure she got from chucking something hard at a walker and seeing it collapse and get back up, utterly confused. "Ya know that, right?"

"Please, Grant _doesn't_ like me." Ashley shook her head and victoriously yanked a small chunk of brick from the side of the building. Daryl watched her with a calculating look on his face, like he wasn't fully sure how to react to her uniqueness. She marched back over to the side of the guard tower, her thumb drawing a line on the smooth side of her weapon. Daryl stood up and came beside her, scanning the walkers' heads, looking for a special one for Ashley to hit with her rock.

He pointed to one that had a head covered in scraggly hair that was making its way towards the fence and Ashley grinned impishly. "Think you can hit it while it's moving?"

"I know I can." Lining herself up for the throw, Ashley squinted one eye and took a deep breath, something her brother had said he did whenever he had to take free-throws in basketball, then, with a step towards the rail to add to the speed of the object, she threw the piece of brick as hard as she could. A second later, the satisfying and disgusting sound of a skull cracking echoed through the air and the walker dropped. Daryl's eyebrows shot up, and he laughed at Ashley's dumbfounded expression.

"Looks like you didn't expect that to happen,"

"I killed it!" she leapt in the air and turned to stare at Daryl. "I killed it from here with a piece of brick! That was _awesome_!"

"Calm down, kid," he chuckled, patting her shoulder lightly as he went to go sit down again. Still, Ashley jumped around like a small child on Christmas, bubbling over with excitement at what she'd done. "Ain't cha killed a walker before?"

"Yeah, but not like _that_!"

"Yer gettin' way too excited!"

"I can't help it I mean I killed a walker by-"

"Ashley, I watched, I know how ya killed the walker." Daryl told her, trying to get her to calm down. He was back in his chair, precariously leaning back on the back two legs with his crossbow near him. Ashley eventually stopped jumping around and settled back in her spot on the ground, since she'd thought it was stupid to bring a chair for watch. Her now sore bottom regretted that decision.

She and Daryl seemed to click instantly-hunting trips could do that. Daryl enjoyed Ashley's quick comebacks to some of his snarky remarks, and Ashley liked everyone that was decent to her. Both of them had been impressed by what the other could do with their weapons and they'd brought back a good sized haul for the group to eat. Supplies were starting to run low even though everyone rationed what they had the best they could and Daryl and Ashley were sent on hunting trips at least once a week.

Grant was okay with not getting to use his weapon very often. He found that he liked doing the small things around the prison, like helping Carol clean or helping Rick and Glenn plan the route for the next run they were to go on. Grant considered Daryl a good guy and he thought that, the more intimidating male friends that Ashley made, the better. He was constantly on watch for Coleman when he was around Ashley.

"What was your favorite book as a kid?" Ashley asked, toying with her knife out of boredom. She was in a particularly good mood this day and she wasn't really sure why, but she figured it had something to do with the tie she felt already to the group she and Grant had joined. They made her feel like she was finally a part of a family again, which made her happy.

"Didn't read much," Daryl grunted, wanting to stay off of the subject of his old life and education; he wanted to forget both of them. Learning had never been stressed in his family, and he figured that he'd just end up working in a motorcycle shop when he got older, earning meager wages that would be just enough for him.

"I was such a nerd, I read all the time. I think my all-time favorite books were the Harry Potter series, anything by John Green (that guy is just amazing, I swear), _The Outsiders_, and pretty much any romance novel I could get my hands on."

"Only book I bothered to read was _Cat in a Hat._" Daryl let out a bark of laughter and listened to Ashley's giggles. She was now lying on her stomach, her head on her arms and her eyes on the tree line. "I think Rick wants us ta go on a trip tomorrow,"

"Good! I'm tired of sitting up here, it's so boring! Not that you're not great company, though," Ashley flipped to her back and held her hands and feet up in the air, wincing as her shoulder blades connected uncomfortably with the cement that made up the tower. "I think we should try and get a deer!"

"You seen any deer 'round here?"

She shook her head. "Not really. But still, we should look. They could be just a little further out."

"Wanna drag a deer all the way back here, fer miles?" Daryl questioned, popping his fingers inattentively. Ashley sighed, seeing the flaw in her plan, and shook her head again.

"No…"

"Me neither,"

There was a long pause where the two listened to the birds chirping and some of the guys yelling at each other as they played basketball, but Ashley decided to interrupt it. "Favorite movie?"

"Jesus Christ, girl, ya ever shut up?"

"I thought you knew that I didn't!" Ashley laughed and rolled over on her stomach again, completely bored.

**_XXX_**

Rick wiped his brow with the back of his hand and took a step back from the fence in front of him, watching the rest of his group stab walkers. Ashley stood between Grant and Glenn, the muscles of her back tense, her expression one of disgust. Her shirt and pants were soaked through with sweat and blood covered her front-splattered over her face down all the way to her ankles-and she looked like she was about to pass out. The poor girl had obviously never killed so many walkers that were so close to her, and he doubted the horrific smell helped.

Grant, on the other hand, looked like he knew what he was doing. His face was void of expression and his body showed how comfortable he was with doing the job he had to. He was covered in blood, also, and he had to pause for a moment before killing the walker that had stepped over the one he'd just taken down, to shake his head as he tried to get a bit of the excess blood off of him. It flew out of his hair and off of his face and neck, splashing on the ground in small pools. A bit of brain matter was stuck to his cheek, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Carl's killing it," Ashley murmured to Grant as he stepped up beside her again, grimacing at the unintended pun. "It's kinda scary at how good he is at this."

"There's not much skill involved," he replied, also looking at the younger boy. Carl was holding a piece of pipe in his hands, jabbing it through the eyes of walkers as they came to the fence, snapping and growling. He had put his sheriff's hat on his bunk before he came outside so that he wouldn't soil it, and his t-shirt and cargo pants were covered in blood just like everyone else's. He didn't seem too disgusted by what he was doing, and that bothered Ashley.

"Still, he's a child and he's killing walkers like it's no big thing."

Grant shrugged and sighed, looking down at the poker in his hand. Coleman told him that it'd belonged to a man named T-Dog, but he was dead and it was now Grant's; that made him uncomfortable, but he didn't show it in front of Coleman. "It's the world he's grown up in, Ash. Don't think about it too much."

_"Don't think about it too much," _Ashley mocked softly, preparing to start attacking the walkers again. She tried not to think too much about the slowly increasing number of walkers that she'd killed (as of now, it was thirteen). Rick had ordered that the undead still trapped in the prison block that the group resided in needed to be put down and their bodies burned so they'd no longer pose a threat. When Ashley and Daryl had switched out their positions in the guard tower with Carol and Beth, they'd come back to the prison just in time to get weapons that they were to use for the walkers trapped in a small section that was fenced off in the prison.

Maggie, Glenn, Daryl, Rick, Carl, and Coleman seemed to be killing the walkers with concentration and hate that Ashley had only seen when Grant had stabbed the walker he found feasting on his sister. She remembered more than she wanted to about his hysterical tears and his refusal to leave the body, which was too mangled and damaged to move when it woke up again. Michonne, Ashley, and Grant did their jobs efficiently, but they were nothing compared to the six people full of loathing for the things. Ashley figured she'd have to ask someone later why massacring these things meant so much to this group.

Glenn took a step back from the fence, placing his hands on his hips and squinting into the low sun as he looked over the work that everyone had done. There was one walker left, and Carl drove his iron rod through its eye with a grunt. Ashley leaned back, her hands supporting her back as she popped it. Grant spotted Coleman staring at her, and he immediately put his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him and using his thumb to wipe a bit of blood from above her eyebrow. She sighed and rolled her eyes, pulling away from him like a child does to their mother when they try and kiss them in public.

"Alright, good job everyone. It's getting dark, but I figure we can stack their bodies and start burning them." Rick said as he unlocked the fence, throwing it open and marching inside. Ashley wrinkled her nose and fell in step with Carl, grabbing on to his shoulder as she stepped over bodies. The fear that the walkers' presence provided made Ashley's heart go into a rhythm that was much too fast, but Carl turned and squeezed her hand lightly, holding on to her and aiding her in getting around the dead. She gave him a grateful smile before taking a deep breath, steeling herself to start dragging the bodies out on the basketball court. The aroma of their rotting flesh and brains that were splattered on the ground was anything but satisfying.

"You don't have to do this," Carl told her quietly as she stared down at the body of a young woman with little hair left in a ripped pair of jeans and t-shirt. Ashley shook her head and tried to look as strong as she could.

"I'm okay. Thanks Carl,"

"You're welcome…" he moved off and grabbed the wrists of the smallest walker he could find, pulling it along with, the only weakness he showed were the short breaths he puffed out of his lips. Ashley closed her eyes as she bent her knees down to reach the walker she was going to have to pick up, and she gasped quietly when her fingers wrapped around its slimy, boney wrists.

_You can do this. You can do this. _Ashley repeated to herself, standing up with her hands around the arms of the female walker. Slowly, she shuffled backwards, wincing at the long line of blood and dirt the body she drug left behind it. Trying to take her mind off of the fate that the woman had come to, she tried to come up with a story behind her. She was a college student majoring in biology that worked out every day because she'd never felt good enough…she liked the color red…she enjoyed reading her textbook with a glass of wine she'd snuck on to campus…she wasn't religious…she was a person, not just a monster.

Daryl walked past her, a body slung over his shoulder like it weighed nothing, and he chuckled at Ashley's expression. "You gonna be alright?"

"I'm fine," she growled through clenched teeth. Her body was still recovering from the stress it'd had to go through in the wilderness, but she felt angry that she wasn't able to pick up the bodies with ease like the others; Carl was the only one that was dragging the walkers he had, and he was four years younger than her. She felt like everyone pitied her.

Rick grunted as he tossed the body of a large walker into the pile that was slowly building, glancing over at Ashley as she walked into his sight. "Need some help?"

"No, I'm fine thanks."

"You don't look it."

_"I'm fine." _She insisted, giving him a fierce look before putting her hands under the walker's body-cringing-picking it up and throwing it into the pile. She was amazed that her muscles were still able to work so well after she'd had to spend so much time with so little food while burning so many calories, and she scurried back to the yard full of dead walkers, attempting to carry one all the way to the pile. Coleman, whom had two over his shoulder, flicked his chin up when Ashley passed him, a silent hello. She smiled a little, still not sure where she wanted to stand with him.

It was obvious that Grant, who was picking up a fat walker with what looked like ease but Ashley could tell was difficulty, didn't trust him. They had butted heads ever since the two teenagers had joined the group, and Ashley was constantly watching Grant when he was around Coleman so he wouldn't do something that would get them kicked out of the group by picking a fight. Grant was known to do that when he got jealous.

"Ashley, will you help me with this walker?" Maggie called from a little ways away, motioning to one with her toe. Ashley nodded and jogged to her, picking up the walker's feet while Maggie took its arms. They totted it over to the pile, not talking but not feeling the need to. Most everyone was quiet, and it didn't seem that this time, though it was considered a victory, was an event that needed a lot of conversation.

**_XXX_**

While the rest of the group assembled in the prison for dinner, Rick and Hershel stood on the basketball court, examining the work that everyone had done. There were three separate piles of walkers because of the sheer amount of the dead that had been trapped behind the fence T-Dog had locked before he was bitten, and they smelled of rotting flesh and looked disgusting, but the two men had small smiles on their faces.

"Is it bad this makes me feel good? To kill all these things, I mean." Rick asked Hershel quietly, not turning towards him, but still staring at the pile with his hand on his pistol. Hershel shook his head.

"Sometimes revenge really is sweet."

Laughing, Rick nodded in agreement. He'd seen just how angry Carl had been when he'd been killing the walkers, and he knew that he was doing it to avenge his mother's death. While Rick had been watching, he'd read the emotions on everyone that had been a part of the group before they came to the prison, and he'd seen just how much massacring these walkers meant to them. It was a way of getting back at the walkers for killing Amy, for making Sophia run away and get bitten, for killing Patricia and Jimmy, for handicapping Hershel, for killing T-Dog, for making Lori go into labor without a doctor around; it meant so much to all of them to get rid of the walkers.

"Ashley seemed like she'd never killed a walker before," Hershel said as he shifted on his crutches, letting out a small breath of discomfort.

"I know. I don't think she's completely used to this kind of stuff,"

"Let's hope she gets better at it, everyone needs to be able to pull their own weight."

"Says the man that can't walk on his own," Rick chuckled and playfully clapped his hand on Hershel's shoulder, looking at him with a grin. "I'm glad I listened to you and Carol, those two are really working out."

"I knew they would." Hershel grinned, but then he turned to look at Rick, his expression serious. "Have you seen how Coleman and Grant are around each other?"

Rick nodded. "They look like they want to kill each other. They both want Ashley's attention."

"So what should we do about that?"

"Let 'em figure it out. Let Ashley choose," Rick knew what this situation was like and he figured it was best to let Ashley choose which guy she wanted to be with; that way there wouldn't be any loose ends for a guy to get the wrong ideas. It would be clean. But, either way, she'd be breaking a heart.

"Do you think Coleman will leave her alone if she stops showing interest in him?" Hershel questioned.

"I guess we'll just have to keep a closer eye on him, 'cause he's not one to settle if he doesn't get his way."


	11. Chapter 10

**Ten **

Ashley ran her fingers through her hair as she exhaled heavily, leaning against the wall of her and Grant's cell. He was currently in the bathroom, washing his face. Gnawing on her already bleeding, chapped bottom lip, Ashley ripped the elastic that Carol had given her out of her hair, causing the braid that Maggie had done to fall out and her hair tumble over back.

_Honestly, _she thought to herself as she slid down the wall, sitting on the floor with her hands over her eyes. _You could barely kill those walkers. They're already dead, okay? It's no one you know, just do it. Even Carl could kill them. _

Resentment for herself made Ashley dig her fingernails into her palms as she angrily threw her head back into the wall. Spots flashed before her eyes and she immediately regretted what she'd done. Grant came around the corner, whistling lightly, but stopped at the doorway of his cell to stare at Ashley.

"Um, Ash?" his asked, not sure what to do. Her head snapped up and she smiled, trying not to show that she was upset. Grant pointed to her position on the floor. "What're you doing?"

"I was doing wall-sits," she lied fluently, something that she'd found out she was gifted in when she was younger. "Trying to stay strong, you know."

"Well don't, that burns calories that you don't need to lose," Grant came in the cell and helped Ashley up from her position on the ground, holding her for a moment while he looked in her eyes. She glanced down at her feet, uncomfortable with the way he was staring at her. Grant always knew if she was upset.

Gently pulling her arms out of his grip, Ashley sat on their bunk and started to braid her hair again, not doing half as good a job as Maggie but making a somewhat representable hairstyle. "Are you just going to look at me?" she growled at Grant, who still hadn't moved.

"What's wrong?" he asked, going to sit by her. Ashley scoffed and took down her hair again, frustrated. She swung herself off of the bottom bunk and quickly climbed up to the top, ignoring Grant's questions.

"I'm sleeping up here tonight," she tried to keep the tears of anger out of her voice. Grant hadn't done anything, but Ashley always got touchy when she was upset and she didn't want anyone to try and console her, she had to heal herself. "Nothing's wrong."

"Whatever," Grant mumbled, throwing a blanket up to Ashley for her to sleep with. She had a pillow with her already, so she wrapped the fabric around her shoulders and laid down on her side, staring at the wall. Grant, whom was still sitting up, considered going up to talk to Ashley and hopefully make her feel better, but he decided against it. She may be the most agreeable person he knew, but, when it came to herself and what she considered unacceptable of her behavior, she was as stubborn as a bull. Sighing, he tucked his arm underneath him and settled down for a night that he knew would be sleepless.

**_XXX_**

_Grant sat down tiredly and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, sighing at the heat. "Ashley, there's nothing in there, I've checked already." _

_ "Maybe you missed something," she shouted from inside the light blue house they'd come across on the countryside. It was quaint on the inside, with hardwood floors and cozy little couches that were now bare from the animals that had wandered in and chewed on them, and the walls were a creamy color that made everything seem calm and even. The two had abandoned their car three weeks ago and were now running low on supplies, so they were glad to see a house that could possibly have things they needed, but their hope was seeping away as every cupboard and room seemed stripped of anything useful. Grant shook his head and leaned back against the concrete stairs on the porch of the house, staring out into the field of weeds that stretched before him. _

_ It'd been terrible just being able to move on foot. He and Ashley hadn't gone by any major roads, so they didn't see any cars that they could steal or siphon gas out of, and they were stuck walking. They had to make camp wherever they could, and usually they were stuck sleeping without shelter. So far Grant and Ashley had only run into about four of the living dead, but they were still on high alert. There was no telling when you'd run into someone that had turned. _

_ "Ash, let's get moving." Grant called as he stared at the horizon. They were heading towards Georgia since they'd heard last that there were refugee centers open, which seemed like their best bet at survival. The hot sun beat down relentlessly on Grant as he leaned his head back to look inside the little country house. "The faster we get to Atlanta the better." _

_ "Hey, there's a room we didn't get to. It looks like a bedroom…" Ashley's voice faded off and Grant heard her turn the knob. Not expecting anything to happen, he groaned at her foolishness for looking and continued to lie sprawled out on the porch, the only thing on his mind the food that could be awaiting him in Atlanta. _

_ Ashley opened the door that she'd found untouched with care, not sure what could be behind it. She hadn't been on the road very long and hadn't seen many zombies, so she didn't feel like they were much of a threat, and the only reason she carried her pistol was because Grant had ordered her to. She'd never had to use it and wasn't sure if she could. Ever since her parents and brother had been killed, everything just seemed like a bad dream. It was like nothing could actually hurt her, like everything was just imagined and she'd be shaken awake by an excited Jake for the first day back to school from the weekend. Honestly, that kid was the only person in the world that enjoyed Mondays. _

_ But feeling like she was trapped in a nightmare didn't help her when a zombie lunged at her out of nowhere. Ashley screamed immediately and tripped over her own feet, falling on her back on the floor. The person lumbered towards her, its mouth bloody and its teeth snapping. Its skin was stretched over its face and was about as thin as it could get, its eyes were cold and blank, and a long string of blood from its mouth dripped on to Ashley's face. Still shrieking, Ashley did the first thing that came to her mind and kicked it in the chest, sending it flying back. She scrambled to her feet and started to sprint outside, to where Grant was. _

_ Grant, who had jumped up at Ashley's scream, ran inside and grabbed her arm, throwing her behind him to protect her. The zombie started down the hallway again and, with nerves of steel, Grant shot his arrow through its forehead. He turned around to tend to Ashley, who was shaking with wide eyes. _

_ "Are you okay? Did it get you?" he asked fearfully. She shook her head numbly. _

_ "N-no, I don't think so…" _

_ "Oh God, I shouldn't have let you out've my sight, I'm sorry Ash, it's my fault." Grant muttered to himself, dragging a hand through his hair as he stared at her. "From now on you don't go anywhere without me, got it?!" _

_ "I'm okay, I should've just shot it," Ashley sighed shakily. Suddenly she felt very ashamed that she'd overreacted and couldn't take care of the zombie herself. If she was going to be living in this world, she'd have to toughen up. _

**_XXX_**

No one was awake, not even Judith. As discreetly as possible, Ashley climbed down the ladder from the top bunk she'd sat on the entire night, hopping down on silent feet to grab Grant's bow and quiver of arrows and two knives, which she strapped to her belt. Looking down at her best friend, Ashley sighed and closed her eyes, leaning against the wall of their cell as she ran a hand over her oily face. She felt disgusting, but she figured she'd feel even worse after the job she was putting on herself.

Her footsteps were barely heard as she hopped down the stairs. Ashley was sure that none of the group was awake and none of them would be able to stop her. She knew which hallway she wanted to go to from talking to Carl and Daryl and doing a bit of investigative work to see which one still needed to be cleared. She shivered even though the prison halls were warm and pulled back a door as quietly as she could, looking behind her to make sure no one was awake. But, before she could slip out, a hand grabbed her bicep and pulled her back.

"What the hell are you doing?" Coleman hissed, his eyes shining in the tiny amount of light the crescent moon gave off through the windows of the prison. Ashley tried to not show that she was freaked out by him, but she accidentally let a whimper escape her lips. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going for a walk in the yard." She told him, taking her arm out of his grasp.

"With Grant's bow?"

"You never know what type of protection you may need," Ashley said.

"Why're you taking a walk?"

"I need some fresh air."

"How about I go with you?" his tone of voice suddenly changed from the harsh one he'd been using to a more welcoming one.

She gave him a fearful look before shaking her head. "No thanks, I'm fine. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Really, I'd be more than happy to come." Coleman said quietly, taking a step towards Ashley. She shook her head again and felt her heart kick up its speed, his presence making her extremely uncomfortable. She realized that the longer she talked to Coleman, the more time she was losing and the better chance she'd get caught by Rick or someone.

"No thank you." Ashley insisted. "I'm _fine_."

Coleman stared at her steadily before shrugging. "Alright, whatever."

Ashley watched him go back up to his cell while she exhaled deeply, hating the effect that he had on her. His presence always made her nervous and she couldn't really tell what he wanted from her, she expected it was something more than a friendship. Glancing around again, Ashley saw no one and finally was able to get out of the cellblock, her breath speeding up along with her footsteps. She knew what she had to do in order to earn the respect of everyone, and she was going to do it no matter what.

**_XXX_**

"Ash?" Grant muttered groggily, his throat dry from where he'd slept with his mouth open. He rolled over to sit on the edge of his bunk, wiping some sleep out of his eyes. "Ash, are you still mad?"

No response. Grant groaned and stood up, looking on the top bunk and finding it empty. He guessed that she'd already gone downstairs to get breakfast, so he grabbed his shirt-which he'd thrown off in the middle of the night-and started down the stairs, humming tunelessly to himself. The entire group was sitting around their tables with plates of food in front of them, talking and laughing. Grant sat down next to Carol after he'd gotten his breakfast and started to eat, his brow furrowed.

"Have you seen Ashley?" he asked Carol. She shook her head and leaned on the table with her elbows.

"I thought she was with you?"

"She slept on the top bunk last night and I didn't see her this morning; I thought she was down here." Grant set his fork down and looked around, starting to worry. Where was she? He turned to look at Daryl and Rick, who were sitting together at their own table. "Have you all seen Ashley?"

"Ain't she with you?" Daryl asked. Grant shook his head and felt the color start to drain out of his face.

"I haven't seen her this morning."

Rick stood up and swept his eyes over everyone, as though Ashley were hiding among them. Everyone suddenly got quiet and looked at Rick, not sure what he was doing. "Have any of you seen Ashley?"

"I saw her late last night," Coleman spoke up. "She said she was going out for a walk. She had Grant's bow and a couple of knives on her, though, and she didn't go outside."

"Where'd she go?!" Grant shouted, standing up on weak legs. He had to lean over and put his hands on the tabletop so he didn't fall over because of his shaking limbs.

"Down one of those hallways, I think." Coleman pointed towards a secluded hallway, one that everyone knew was off –limits because there were still walkers loose inside of it. The entire atmosphere in the room changed from relaxed and sleepy to alert and scared; Rick marched over to Coleman and started to interrogate him.

"Down one of those hallways? The ones with _walkers_ in them?!" he yelled. "You saw her go and you didn't try and stop her or get one of us?!"

"I didn't realize it! It was late and I was tired and she said she was just going for a walk, Rick!"

Grant jumped up and ran up to his cell, finding Ashley's pistol on the small desk that was connected to the wall, and slammed the magazine full of bullets in it while he grabbed a few more and stuffed them into his pockets. Feverishly he ran back down the stairs to see Rick, Daryl, and Glenn preparing to go find Ashley. "Let's go! She can't handle a lot on her own!"

"When we find her we stay in formation," Rick commanded to the men as they sprinted towards the hall that Coleman had pointed to. "Grant, you better not break ranks or we could all go down."

Daryl pushed the teenager into his position in the circle that they were supposed to form, giving him a stern look before putting his cheek on his crossbow and following Rick's lead down the dark hallway. Grant's heart raced and he felt sick, but he did what Rick told him to do and stayed on guard.

**_XXX_**

The first three walkers had been easy, they were slow and alone. Ashley had a bit of blood on her shirt and on her face, but she didn't feel too bad. She had used Grant's bow to kill the walkers since she didn't feel ready enough to stab them with her knife and found that it was just like killing an animal when it came to shooting the walker. She felt almost no guilt or disgust, she was more proud of herself and what she'd been able to accomplish by herself. She'd never killed walkers without Grant or someone around, and it was empowering.

The halls were dark and Ashley felt like kicking herself for forgetting a flashlight. But, her eyes were adjusting and she thought that she'd be alright with the little amount she was able to see; she figured that the group had been overreacting when they said that there was still a large group of walkers roaming around because she'd only seen a few. Even though there weren't many walkers, the halls were still creepy. After all, it _was_ a prison full of dead people that wanted to feast on Ashley and she was alone, in the dark.

Still walking with an arrow notched, Ashley plucked the string of Grant's bow lightly as she rounded a corner. Everywhere in the prison smelled terribly, but the stench the found its way to her was overpowering. Ashley's eyes started to water and she knew what the smell of decaying flesh and death meant: there was a walker near. Her heartbeat picked up and, deciding to do something a bit daring so she could get the walker to come to her instead of her searching blindly for it, she whistled.

Immediately Ashley heard shuffling and grunts. She pulled the bowstring tighter and positioned it to fire, squinting to see in the inky blackness before her. A male walker appeared, its prison garb torn and filthy from its dead owner, and walked towards Ashley, gnashing its teeth as it made its way towards her with its bloody, thin hands outstretched. Doing what came naturally, Ashley shot her arrow and it sunk through the creature's left eye, spurting blood and causing it to drop to the floor. Before Ashley could take the arrow out, though, another walker lumbered towards her.

She kept a cool head and notched another arrow, firing and hitting the walker in the forehead. But, another walker came, this time moving faster. With shaking hands Ashley pulled another arrow from her quiver and notched it, shooting it and hitting her target. Two more walkers came, and then five followed them. The smell that accompanied them was even worse than the sound of their snapping jaws and dragging limbs. Ashley gasped and stood rooted to the spot before she regained her senses enough to get out a knife when she figured there wasn't enough time to notch an arrow. She'd never killed a walker up close before, but Ashley knew that she needed to do it now to survive.

Seven walkers, all of them coming for her. She stabbed one in the head before turning around and running back to get some space. She heard footsteps and her breath hitched in her chest-what if there were more walkers coming from the opposite direction? She'd be trapped. Ashley felt panic rise within her and she decided to stop trying to fight back and to just flee.

**_XXX_**

"Ashley, don't you ever try something like that again!" Grant yelled, his fear and anger and relief that his best friend was okay all mixing in his voice. Ashley, who was already upset from being screamed at by Daryl and Rick and Glenn and Carol, ripped her arm out of Grant's grip and started to stomp up the stairs to their cell. "Honestly, what the _hell_ was going through your head?!"

"Leave me alone, Grant!"

"No!" he grabbed her and shoved her against the wall beside the staircase, just outside of their shared cell. One hand was supporting his weight beside Ashley's head and the other hand a firm grip on one of her wrists; she couldn't get away from him no matter how hard her frail body tried. "You could've died, Ash! You could've been torn to shreds! _Why _didn't you just talk to me?!"

"Nothing happened-I'm fine! Stop worrying!" Ashley yelled, angry with his caring. "You think I'm weak, just like everybody else, because I couldn't kill those walkers, don't you?! That's why you're freaking out, because you think I can't protect myself! I _can _and I did! I was fine before you all came and I didn't need your help! I was _fine_!"

"You weren't fine! You didn't even think to take your gun with you! You had four walkers on your ass and you wouldn't even shoot them! You were anything _but_ fine!"

"Why are you worrying about me so much?! Go focus on yourself and stop getting into every damn thing I do!"

Grant didn't seem to notice that he leaned in towards Ashley's face. His eyes were wide and he was frustrated with how Ashley was screaming at him when all he was doing was trying to help and make sure she knew just how idiotic her plan of clearing out a hallway full of walkers had been when she knew that she couldn't kill them alone. He wasn't angry anymore, he felt like he was going to break from all the emotions coursing through him. He was now just relived that Ashley was alive and with him. "Why am I worrying?! I'm worrying because you went out and tried to kill all those walkers without help! You could've been killed! I would've never seen you again! You should've talked to me, Ash! You're not weak because you couldn't kill those walkers in the yard, there's nothing wrong with that! You-"

Suddenly, Ashley's free hand was on the back of Grant's neck and she was pulling him towards her. So quickly that he almost didn't realize what was happening, Ashley slammed Grant's lips against hers, kissing him.


	12. Chapter 11

**Eleven **

Suddenly, Ashley's free hand was on the back of Grant's neck and she was pulling him towards her. So quickly that he almost didn't realize what was happening, Ashley slammed Grant's lips against hers, kissing him. It seemed like one of his dreams. It may have been the amount of emotions and adrenaline and liberation of being alive that was all she could feel that made Ashley finally make the first move on her and Grant becoming something more than they were, but he accepted it with open arms.

Finally realizing what was happening, Grant started to kiss her back. Ashley's arms were around his neck, pulling him even closer, and Grant had moved his arms so they were around her waist. He pulled her towards him so their abdomens were touching; Grant was elated. He was kissing the girl that he had feelings for since he first met her after so much time of waiting and it was just as wonderful as he'd always imagined it. Pulling away to catch his breath, Grant smiled. He put his hand under Ashley's jaw and brought her back for another kiss, but they were interrupted by a small noise.

"Better not let Daryl or Rick see you two," Michonne murmured as she brushed past the two, her sword on her back like it always was.

Ashley giggled and blushed, glancing over at Grant, who had a giant smile on his face. He still had his arms around her waist. When Michonne was safely in her cell Grant put his hands on the back of Ashley's neck and pulled her close to him again, savoring the feel of her lips against his.

They stood like that for a little while, getting a small amount of the kissing they'd been yearning for from each other done before Ashley looked down at the ground with a small smile, signaling that she wanted to stop for a moment. Grant stared at her with a grin, tucking a bit of hair that had come loose from her ponytail back behind her ear. "God, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for that," he told her in a whisper.

"I think I may have been waiting even longer." She said, laughing. They forgot that they'd just been screaming at each other and arguing and were now focused solely on one another and their feelings for each other. It'd been obvious to the group as soon as Ashley and Grant were accepted that they liked each other but the two had tried to stem those feelings that brewed inside of them so there would be no drama or hurt that usually came with being in a relationship. It was almost awful that they'd just come together in the worst time possible: the zombie apocalypse. But, the two were happier than they'd ever been. The world that they lived in had stripped them of everyone they loved except for each other, and, to stay sane, they needed the love that they shared.

Rick had expressed his concerns about Grant and Ashley sleeping in the same bunk and spending so much alone time together when the sexual tension between them could practically be cut with a knife to Daryl and Hershel, but they'd told him to trust the two. If they were going to do something there was no stopping them; it was just like controlling Glenn and Maggie, which was impossible. He didn't like the thought of Ashley and Grant being together in any type of relationship because 1) he figured Ashley was like an adopted daughter and 2) he didn't want a repeat of a death due to a pregnancy. Rick still had nightmares about Lori dying and everyday he loathed himself for being so terrible to her and never talking to her when she was still around. Every look he took at Judith reminded him of the sacrifice Lori had made and how brave and selfless she'd been, but it still didn't help him in accepting her death. He didn't want to lose anyone else the way he'd lost his wife, and he planned to make that known as soon as Grant and Ashley started acting like a full-time couple.

**_XXX_**

_"Do you like Ashley?" Jake asked Grant, glancing away from the screen of the television to look at him while Ashley was in the bathroom. He was now in college and Grant and Ashley were in tenth grade and they had gotten even closer over the summer to where Grant pretty much spent every day at her house or with her. Taken aback by the question, Grant didn't react for a second. "Well, do you?" _

_ "Um, I don't really know. We're just friends, though, if that's what you're wondering."_

_ "Listen, she's my little sister. I don't want any guy to be her boyfriend, but I know that's stupid and one day she'll date someone. I'd actually be okay with you two dating, though. Just know that she's fragile-I know she seems like the most confident person in the world, but she's so insecure and she thinks that everything is wrong with her." He glanced down at his lap when his voice cracked because of the emotions that talking about his little sister's insecurities brought. "She needs someone to take care of her, and I know you do. But, if you two start dating, please be careful." _

_ Grant nodded, already knowing about Ashley's hate for herself. Even though she was one of the prettiest girls in school, she thought she was ugly. She hated her smile, the way that her eyes crinkled up when she laughed so that they were pretty much closed, how her eyebrows seemed to never stay trimmed well, the acne that she constantly fought with but wasn't very noticeable, and her body. She tried to work around it and be confident, but sometimes she would call Grant crying and he'd listen to her bash herself with insults. "Don't worry Jake, I'd never do anything to hurt her." _

_ "If you do, I swear to God I'll kill you." He said seriously. Grant looked at him and nodded again, knowing that he'd get beaten within an inch of his life if he ever did anything bad to Ashley. They turned back around to stare at the screen of the movie they'd been watching, which was paused, waiting for Ashley to come back into the room so they could start it again. _

**_XXX_**

It was now two days after Ashley had kissed Grant and it was almost the first private moment she'd had to herself since Grant was so affectionate and didn't want to miss one moment he could be with her. She'd just taken a shower, and Ashley shook out her wet hair and pulled her tank top on, cringing when she looked in the mirror that Carl had given to her from an abandoned bathroom for her and Grant's cell. Her run-in with walkers in the hallway she thought she'd be able to clear hadn't gone well, she had bruises running along her arms from where Daryl had grabbed her around a corner, his grip had been so strong that she couldn't feel her arm for the rest of the day. Her lip-which had originally been cut from Maggie hitting her to get her to shut up-still hadn't healed and had swelled again from her tripping and somehow bringing the hilt of her knife up to her face just in time to fall on it. The right side of her face was also swollen because she'd been slammed into a wall by a walker that had snuck up behind her, which she'd killed. Luckily, that was the extent of her injuries.

Her jeans were on her bunk and she grabbed them, examining them before she put them on. The once expensive looking jeans had been her go-to pants for school. They were a dark wash, which made her thighs look smaller, they were a brand that everyone just _had _to wear to be cool, and they hugged her in all the right places. Now, they were torn and dirty and the bottoms were worn and tattered. They were almost like a security blanket and a reminder of the world before it went to hell, and how what you wore determined a lot about you. Ashley laughed a little as memories of picking out her outfits the night before she went to school, worrying if she'd look okay. It was so unimportant now that it seemed like a dream she'd had.

Looking for the flannel shirt that sheltered her arms and shoulders from the burning sun, Ashley started to hum to herself. She vaguely remembered a song her mother had played for her when she was feeling down called _I Enjoy Being a Girl_. It was from a Broadway show, but the name of it was lost in her mind. It was a nice song, but Ashley couldn't remember the words. Most of the songs she remembered were from Disney songs, which she'd grown up on, so they were permanently imprinted in her brain.

"He's gettin' real old real quick, Rick," Ashley recognized Daryl's growl even though it was faint. Knowing he was talking about Coleman, she really wanted to get in on the conversation, so she pulled her hair back into a bun that rested on the top of her head so her hair would dry and still be out of her way as she started out of her cell to go get in on their conversation. "That damn kid scared off every deer miles around here and told all the walkers around where we were."

"Why'd he yell?" Rick questioned as he leaned against the railing of the stairs with his arms crossed. Daryl snorted.

"Got stuck in a thorn bush and said he needed me ta help 'im out."

"That's ridiculous," Ashley blurted out, crouching on the stairs so her face was equal with Rick's. He sighed and motioned for her to come and stand next to him. "Is he that big of a baby?"

"'Pparently."

"Ashley, why don't you go help Carol outside." It wasn't a question; he didn't want her listening to their conversations about the others in the group. Familiar with Rick's father-like persona and his dislike for talking about other people to a crowd, Ashley sighed and nodded.

"Okay." Before she could go, Daryl caught her arm and she winced since her bruises were still sensitive.

"Get work done and don't flirt," he warned her lowly, making her grin and laugh. Ashley told him she'd actually do something instead of hang out with Grant, and he let her go, turning back to Rick to talk. She walked through the hall that lead to the yard, where she knew Carol was hanging up clothes. It was amazing how much everyone still had with them, and the wash load was huge. When there weren't dishes to clean or walkers to kill there were always clothes to wash.

Just as she was coming down the hallway, the door to outside opened and Coleman appeared, sweaty. His arms were bleeding and he looked extremely angry. "Where's Rick?" he snarled, not looking at Ashley. She pointed behind her.

"He's talking with Daryl."

Coleman recognized her voice and he glanced down at her, his expression a bit surprised. "Oh, hey Ash,"

"Uh, only Grant calls me Ash…" she told him, rubbing her arm uncomfortably. Coleman chuckled, pushing his bangs back off of his tanned forehead.

"Oh sorry, I thought anyone could." He drug his eyes down her body before looking her in the eyes again; Ashley shifted and tried to get around him, but Coleman put his hand on the wall in front of her, a seemingly innocent move. "You look nice. Where are you going?"

"I'm supposed to be helping Carol clean clothes."

"I've got some in my cell I don't think I've given her yet, can you come and get them?" he asked, taking a step closer to her.

"Um, I saw her go from your cell this morning with all your clothes," Ashley lied quickly, wishing Coleman would leave her alone. He stared at her for a moment longer before shrugging like it was no big deal, but Ashley could see the anger flare behind his eyes.

"Alright. See you later,"

Watching his retreating figure, Ashley exhaled heavily. Coleman was so weird, he was always observing Ashley and Grant when they were together, and not in the way a brother would-like Daryl and Carl did-but in a way that made her think he was figuring her out like a difficult puzzle. Grant hated him, she knew, and it was because he said he reminded him of the guys that had liked her in school that had 'the wrong interests in mind'. Sighing and adjusting her shirt on her shoulders, Ashley headed outside, trying to focus on Grant and the discreet but oh-so attractive winks and smirks he'd shoot her from where he was helping Glenn repair a fence.

**_XXX_**

_"You are 16 going on 17," _Glenn helped Ashley on to one of the metal tables that were in the dining room with a grin, making her and the rest of the group, excluding Coleman, whom was upstairs moping and groaning about Daryl leaving him stuck in a thorn bush, laugh. Of course Ashley knew the song by heart, also, and she listened to Glenn's slightly off key singing merrily.

_ "Baby its time to think._

_ "Better beware,_

_ "Be canny and careful,_

_ "Baby you're on the brink! _

_"You are 16 going on 17,_

_ "Fellows will fall in line," _at this, he pointed to Grant and waggled his eyebrows. He and Ashley glanced at each other and grinned.

_ "Eager young lads,_

_ "And grueways and cads, _

_"Will offer you fruit and wine!_

_ "Totally unprepared are you,_

_ "To face a world of men,_

_ "Timid and shy and scared are you, _

_"Of things beyond your kin!_

_ "You need someone_

_ "Older and wiser_

_ "Telling you what to do,_

_ "I am 17 going on 18 _

_"I'll take care of you!"_

Ashley jumped right in with her part. Glenn put his hands on her waist and she jumped off of the bench they'd been dancing on to ballroom dance with him in the middle of all the tables, a smile stretched over her face. _"I am 16 going on 17,_

_ "I know that I'm naïve._

_ "Fellows I meet may tell me I'm sweet_

_ "And willingly I believe!_

_ "I am 16 going on 17, innocent as a rose," _she shot an innocent look to everyone. Grant laughed, noting that Ashley was still the performer she'd always been.

_ "Bachelor dandies,_

_ "Drinkers of brandies,_

_ "What do I know of those?_

_ "Totally unprepared am I_

_ "To face a world of men._

_ "Timid and shy and scared am I _

_"Of things beyond my kin!" _Ashley threw out her arms for the big crescendo that came at the end of the song, her voice being thrown into an even higher octave than it already was.

_ "I need someone_

_ "Older and wiser_

_ "Telling me what to do!_

_ "You are 17 going on 18, _

_"I'll depend on you!" _everyone dissolved into laughter and applause, and Glenn held out his arms for Ashley to bow, which she did, and she gave him the same pleasure. Ashley went to stand next to Grant, who put his arm around her neck and pulled her towards him, kissing her temple lightly. Beth scoffed and took her glare off of them, but the couple didn't notice, they were too interested in each other.

After a long day of hard work, Glenn and Ashley had decided to entertain everyone by having a little show. They'd sung four duets that they could remember, and it seemed to lighten everyone's mood. Coleman had even appeared at the top of the steps to listen to the duo, but he hadn't cracked a smile. He was still angry about Daryl leaving him, which was understandable, but even Ashley thought he'd overreacted and needed to get over it. After all, it was _just_ a thorn bush.

"You haven't lost your touch," Grant told her.

"Touch in what?"

"Performing,"

Ashley grinned and kissed his cheek, earning a glare from Beth and Carl. They'd been quite subdued since Grant and Ashley had become an official couple because Beth was jealous of Ashley and Carl was jealous of Grant. But the couple was completely oblivious to everyone when they were around each other. They were mostly glad for the other's company and that they could finally express their love for each other through touching and kissing, which they hadn't been able to do before. But, when work needed to be done, their relationship was pushed to the side and they were still the same people trying to survive.

But, in the moments that they could be two teenagers that had feelings for each other, they were just that. There was a new sense of security that allowed them the privileges that had been stolen from them; Grant and Ashley had a group that took care of them, they had a home, and they were able to be in a relationship. Sometimes, when everyone was hanging around inside and not talking about how to ration the food and what types of runs they'd need to go on or the constant threat of the mysterious man named the Governor, it felt like the world was the same it had been before the dead were reanimated. It felt normal. Those were some of the best moments.

The group had already eaten, so everyone was tired and ready for bed. Ashley and Grant collected plates, chatting a little to people before they headed off to bed. Rick, whom never got much sleep because he was either tending to Judith or restlessly tossing in his bed, stood at the top of the staircase in the shadows, watching Ashley and Grant. He noticed just how happy they were together, how carefree they seemed. Daryl also stood beside him, his hands tight around the railing.

"How long you think they'll last?" he asked in an undertone so that no one in their cells would hear him. Rick sighed and didn't look at him, staring intently at the couple. He felt like Ashley's father, and he figured that Daryl felt the same from the way he was glaring at Grant.

"I dunno. I think they like each other a lot."

"Yeah, but how far is a lot gonna get 'em in this world?"

"I'd say far enough. They've been together since sixth grade, this can't change much." Rick sighed and shook his head. "I'm just worried that they'll take it too far and…I don't want another pregnancy."

Grant glanced at Ashley slyly, unaware that Daryl and Rick were watching and talking about them, before he splashed a bit of the water out of his bucket on to her shirt. In a matter of seconds this turned into a full blown war with both of them filling their cupped hands with water and throwing it on the other. Ashley giggled as she was pulled into Grant's arms for a kiss. They went back to washing the dishes, talking and laughing.

"I'll cut his balls off if he does anythin' other than kissin'." Daryl growled, his expression darkening. Rick chuckled but felt the exact same way.

"I think they'll be careful. We can only hope, though,"

"Or we can threaten him."

Considering that for a moment, Rick nodded. "We'll save that for when we really need it. Just keep your knife sharp."

**Responses to reviews! **

**Kayla: I did get your review this time! Thank you again for always reading my story and reviewing-it makes my day and makes writing this so much more enjoyable knowing that I have people that like reading! I'm glad that you're excited that they finally kissed (I am too!). And that's a very good prediction, I didn't even think about going that way! **

**wolfismyhero: Thank you! Grant is pretty awesome, if I may say. He's based off of one of my very best friends, which makes writing him so easy and fun! Personally I don't like Coleman or Beth either, haha, so I feel you! **

**akaboo: Thank you! I must admit I love leaving off on cliffhangers, so please don't hate me for it! (;**


	13. Chapter 12

**Twelve **

_"We have to start hunting," Grant told Ashley as he wrapped a blanket around her boney shoulders. "We're running out of food, you're not getting enough protein and you're getting too small." _

_ "I'm not getting too small, I'm fine." She pushed away his hands and glanced down at her pistol, which was lying on its side in the dirt in front of her. "I don't think I'll be able to kill an animal though…" _

_ "Ash, we have to eat and they're our only food source." _

_ "I know, but they're so cute." _

_ "Ashley." _

_ "Okay," she sighed in defeat and looked up at Grant. "Have you ever hunted?" _

_ He nodded and sat beside her. "I had some cousins from Kentucky and I'd go there sometimes during spring break and hunt with them. I'm not the best but I'll get better with practice." _

_ "Okay…. Will I have to?" _

_ "You may have to. Like, if something happens to me you'll have to find-" _

_ "Grant, don't say stuff like that," Ashley said, suddenly very solemn. "That's not going to happen." _

_ "I'm just saying it could." _

_ Ashley shot him another disapproving look. "No. It's not going to happen. You're not going to leave me. Promise?" _

_ "I can't promise that, Ash. It's too unpredictable." _

_ "Grant!" Ashley stood up and Grant recognized the fiery girl that had always fought against the bullies at school so the kids they were picking on would know they had some support. "Promise me that you will _never _leave me. I want to hear you say it! Say _'Ashley, I won't ever leave you. I promise.'_ Just give me that." _

_ Sighing, Grant decided to agree with her just so she'd stop and get some sleep. "Fine. Ashley, I won't ever leave you. I promise." _

_ "Good." She sat and pulled her blanket around her shoulders again, looking into the fire that she'd conjured up with an expression that told Grant she was going to hold him to that for the rest of their lives. _

**_XXX_**

Creeping through the woods, Ashley exchanged a look with Daryl, nodding off to her left. He responded with another nod, following her with his crossbow on his shoulder, ready to shoot. They were taking their weekly hunting trip, and so far Daryl had rabbits and squirrels strung across his chest and around his waist. Ashley was starting to get quite a few on her belt, all of which she'd shot herself.

Picking through a few small thorn bushes, Ashley and Daryl focused on two squirrels that were fighting in a tree high above them. They smirked at each other, liking the challenge that the position of the animals posed, and got their shots ready at the same time. They knew that Ashley was to shoot the squirrel on the left and Daryl was to get the one on the right, a rule they'd established earlier just in case they had a case like this.

Ashley pulled the string of Grant's bow tight and aimed. Taking a deep breath, she let the arrow fly and Daryl let his go just seconds after Ashley's. They both hit their targets, and the squirrels dropped from the branches of the tree to the ground. Victoriously, the two swiped their kills from the ground, took their arrows out of their bodies, and put them where they'd be able to carry them.

"I feel like this should be enough for this week, and we're getting pretty far away from the prison," Ashley said, wiping sweat from her brow. She actually didn't feel too bad about killing the animals-she'd figured out that it was their lives or hers and the group's. The midday sun was beating down and the forest was dry and dead, so there were no leaves to provide coverage. Daryl sighed and looked up at the sky, nodding.

"A'right. Let's go back."

They turned around and started walking back. Even though it was hot it was nice outside; the creek that Ashley and Grant had used as a bath and water source was audible over all the birds' cries, and a soft wind blew through the trees and cooled Ashley's skin, which was soaked with sweat. She used to be embarrassed about how much she sweat, but now she was used to not being able to use deodorant and had gotten accustomed to the disgusting feeling of being covered in perspiration all the time.

Going past the place that held so many horrific memories made Ashley a little cold on the inside. She was glad that she and Grant had been accepted by Rick's group, because their camp would have been the death of them. She remembered sitting in the dark with only a makeshift tent and the fire as her company while Grant slept restlessly, her stomach rumbling with hunger that could never be settled. The constant worry about walkers that could easily take over their camp and kill them wasn't something Ashley liked to remember.

Daryl wasn't one to strike up a conversation, and Ashley was feeling tired, so they marched back to camp in a comfortable silence. Since she'd met him Ashley had become attached to Daryl; she really enjoyed his company and she felt at ease around him. His attitude reminded her a bit of Jake's: protective, funny, stubborn, and smart. She considered him a part of her family already, and she'd only known him for about a month.

"I need your help with something," Ashley said to Daryl quietly, crunching over some dead leaves and grass.

"I ain't givin' you relationship advice."

Ashley laughed and shook her head at him. "I don't need any of that. Besides, I doubt you've had many successful relationships yourself; you're so quiet you'd drive a girl crazy."

"Oh, I could tell ya things that would make your head spin." Daryl told her, only somewhat joking. "Whadda ya need?"

"Can you tell me a bit more about your group? Like, why's Rick so sad all the time? And how'd Judith come here if there's no mom?"

Daryl stared at the ground, sighing heavily. He adjusted his crossbow on his back and shook his head. "I don' think I can tell you much 'bout errybody. But, I'll tell ya what I know 'bout Rick." Talking about this seemed difficult for Daryl, and Ashley placed her hand on his shoulder, showing her support. She would've told him that he didn't have to tell her, but she wanted to know. "Rick used to be married ta Lori. She could  
be a real bitch sometimes. She got pregnant and had Judith and…"

"She died?"

"Yeah. Maggie gave 'er a C-section…she'd never done it before 'nd it didn't go well. Only one of them could live, 'nd Lori wanted Judith to."

"Oh…" Ashley suddenly felt sick. She looked over at Daryl, who was staring at the ground intensely. She could see that he didn't want to show the emotions that were making their way forward, so she tried to end the conversation for him. "Well…that's awful. I'm sorry."

"Not my wife." He grunted, putting up his tough exterior again. Ashley was already familiar with this defense mechanism and she sighed, rolling her eyes to herself and quieting down. "Why'd ya wanna know?"

"I just figured that Grant and I should know a bit about the group." She muttered, shrugging. "I mean, you all know a lot about us already, so I feel like we should all share our stories."

"I swear, if I didn't find ya so interestin' I'd think you were as annoyin' as hell." Daryl grinned at Ashley and she laughed again, the corners of her mouth pulling up. She decided that she really did like this hick.

"Now you should tell me a story about yourself," Ashley said, attempting to tweak Daryl's nose but instead getting her hand swatted away like she was an annoying cat.

"Ain't tellin' you nothin'." He chuckled lightly when Ashley huffed.

"Don't be difficult! Tell me something about your childhood. A good memory."

Daryl quieted down, his eyes cast on the ground. "Don't have many."

"A few doesn't mean none. Let's sit here," Ashley plopped down on a rock that was near a ridge where the two would be able to see the prison. Pulling out a small bag of granola that Grant had forced her to keep in her jeans pocket just in case she and Daryl were out for a while and got hungry, Ashley poured some in her hand and offered the bag to Daryl. He took it and stared at the horizon, chewing on the inside of his cheek so he wouldn't have to talk. Ashley sensed his unease and tried to make him feel a little more comfortable. "You know, there was this one time that me and my brother, Jake, were on a ski trip together with our church group.

"It was really nice. We went to this posh ski lodge with a bunch of kids that were in the same group and stayed there for four days. Jake and I pretty much only liked each other in that group; the other kids were alright but they were all rich and didn't like it if they didn't get their way. Now, our family was well off, but I think Jake and I had our heads straight. He loved everyone…" Ashley sighed heavily. "He didn't judge you based on your clothes or how much money you had or how smart you were, he'd get to know you first and treat you the way you deserved to be treated. He was such a great person."

"I'm sorry about your brother."

"It's in the past. But anyways, back to the story. One night when everyone else was asleep, Jake and I ordered some hot chocolate-with extra marshmallows, mind you-from room service and then we went down stairs and sat in front of the fire that was going in the lobby. We talked all night. It was really nice. He told me about his girlfriend, I told him about my nonexistent love-life, and we just sat there all night and talked. I swear, it was the most peaceful thing…"

"I've never done somethin' like that." Daryl said, standing up. "I'll tell ya a story another time; let's get back to the prison."

Ashley sighed, rolling her eyes, but stood up too. "Alright."

**_XXX_**

"We should send scouts to Woodbury," Glenn said to the group, all of whom were assembled around the eating area of the prison. Grant had his elbows on his knees, staring at Rick with great concentration. Ashley knew that Rick wasn't going to let her go on any runs to Woodbury just like he didn't let Carl, but Grant was surely going to get sent because of his accurate shot and how strong he was. Soothingly, Ashley put her hand on the middle of Grant's back; she could tell that he was worried and stressed from how tight his muscles were. "If they still look weak, I say we attack."

"We're outnumbered." Carol told him. "They're a town. They've got more people, more guns…it's not a fight we can win by brute force."

"But we can win by surprise." Rick said. He was seemingly teetering on the edge of a decision, which worried Ashley. She and Grant hadn't been a part of the group when Glenn and Maggie and Daryl had been kidnapped and held hostage, but Carl had told them about it, and the Governor and his town didn't seem like something the group at the prison could handle. Apparently, while on a run, Glenn, Maggie and Daryl had gotten kidnapped by a man named the Governor and a few of his cronies and taken back to the town called Woodbury, where they were tortured and almost killed until Rick and Michonne and Coleman went back there and got them back.

"Do you really think that's such a good idea?" Ashley asked as she rubbed Grant's back softly. "Like Carol said, they've got so many people and we're weak compared to them. It would be stupid to fight them."

Daryl had stayed out of the conversation until now; he adjusted his seat on the side of a table and cleared his throat. "Most of 'em don't got any idea how ta use a weapon. When y'all got me out they were runnin' around like chickens with their heads cut off. I don't think most of the town has shot a gun before." Ashley thought she heard him utter something about city-folk, and she grinned at him.

"What if you just look and see what it's like? You think they'd still be recovering from your attack earlier…they could still be vulnerable." Hershel said.

"Why're we even debating this?!" Glenn shouted, visibly breaking. "They tortured me and Maggie and Daryl! Are we going to let them get stronger while we wait to make a decision or are we going to get them while we have the advantage?!"

"I think we should scout their town out, like Hershel said," Rick told Glenn, holding his hand out to show him that he needed to calm down. "That way we can pick out their weaknesses and come back, get ready, _then _attack."

"I say we attack them right now!" Coleman said, his arms crossed over his chest tightly. Beth shot him a look that told him to shut up.

"Who's gonna go?" Daryl grunted. Rick ran a hand through his hair and looked over everyone, picking out who he thought would be the best.

"Me, Maggie, Glenn, Michonne, Daryl, and Grant." Maggie paled when she heard her name and Beth squeezed her hand reassuringly. Ashley's fingers retracted, her nails accidentally scratching Grant's back through his shirt, but she tried to seem calm. She knew just how dangerous this was going to be and her boyfriend was going to be going straight into it. Of course she understood that this scouting trip was important and something vital to the survival of the group, but she still didn't want Grant to have to put his life on the line for it.

Sensing her anxiety, he looked at her and smiled soothingly, placing his large hand on her knee. Ashley gave Grant a wan smile to try and show that she wasn't nervous for him, but he knew her much too well to be fooled by such a weak performance. "I'll be fine."

"I know." Ashley whispered, putting her hand on top of his. "I know. I'm just worried that you won't come back…"

"Don't worry, Ash, I'm not leaving you. I _won't_."


	14. Chapter 13

**Thirteen **

"Shit…" Grant breathed to Glenn, peering over the top of an abandoned car quietly. A spotlight started to sweep over the wreckage that the group was hiding behind, so Glenn and Grant ducked and tried to keep themselves calm while they waited for the coast to be clear again. Grant nervously took a deep breath and tried to keep himself under control. His hand shook on the huge gun that he'd been given back at the prison by Rick. "That's a big place."

"We're not going in, don't worry." Glenn seemed to be a bit stressed to, and he had good reason to be-his black eye was thrown into sharp contrast by the moonlight. It was still swollen and Grant suddenly felt bad that he was worried about being here; after all, Glenn had been tortured here and had almost died. Grant had none of these terrible memories with the place, just those that he'd heard.

"Just looking around?"

"Yeah…that's what Rick said."

Daryl snuck over to where the two were hiding with a gun on his back and magazines in his pockets. "Y'all go ta that house 'round that road over there and see what it's like. Look for what type o' protection it's got."

"Alright." Grant said, taking a shaky breath. Suddenly, Grant realized that he'd never been so far away from Ashley since the end of the world. They'd always been together-fighting walkers, keeping watch while one of them hid behind a bush to pee, rationing food, hunting-and this was a new experience. He was almost lost without her. It was scary to think about, but at least he felt safe with Glenn. He knew that this man was trustworthy and wouldn't let him get into trouble.

Before Glenn could lead the teenager away to their new scouting spot, Daryl grabbed his arm and they shared a look that showed Grant just how supportive they were of each other. They thought that there was a chance one of them could die. With that thought on his mind, Grant took a deep, somewhat calming breath, preparing himself for the gunfire that could be aimed for him, and stayed close behind Glenn and followed him through the ruins that were outside of Woodbury.

**_XXX_**

Ashley hadn't stopped pacing since the group that was going to look at Woodbury had left. She was worried. Constantly running her hands through her dirty hair, she kept taking looks outside the window of the prison, thinking that the group was going to come as soon as she looked away. Carl watched her from a small distance away, his forehead crinkled with thought.

"Have you two never done this?" he asked. Ashley turned around and stared at him, not really comprehending what he was saying. He went on. "Have you two ever been, like, separated before? You don't seem to be used to this."

"No, Carl, we have never had to go through something like this before. It used to be the only threat to us was walkers, but now we have to worry about these stupid people too! Grant and I have never been away from each other since the world went to Hell!" Ashley's voice cracked and her shoulders slumped. All the fight seemed to leave her. Slowly, she went and sat beside Carl on the staircase he'd used as his post to watch her worry. "I'm just scared."

"He'll be okay." Carl told her firmly. "He's with my dad and Daryl and Michonne and Glenn and Maggie; they won't let anything happen to him."

"Anything can happen though..."

"I know. But they won't let anything happen to Grant, Ashley. I'm positive he'll come back perfectly fine."

Ashley turned her head to look at Carl. His head was equal to hers since they were sitting, so it was even that much easier to believe he was older than he was. Ashley remembered when she'd been thirteen, and she couldn't imagine her younger self being able to adapt and survive the way Carl had. He was just like his father. Ashley knew that there was something dark behind this child that made him so quiet and grown-up, but she decided against asking him at the moment. His mother was gone and his father could easily go the same way. It just wasn't a good time to ask about the past.

Beth came out from a cell with Judith snug in her arms and Hershel started down the stairs slowly, his breathing a bit labored because of the difficult task. Carl and Ashley stood so that he could get around them, and he ended up standing next to the railing of the staircase, leaning on his crutch heavily. Ashley felt sorry for him because of his handicap, but she tried not to focus on it so that he wouldn't think she looked down on him.

"How's Judith?" Ashley asked Beth, smiling as she observed the baby.

"She's fine." Beth answered a little coldly. Carl and Hershel also picked up on the slight hostility that Beth seemed to carry for Ashley, and both of their eyebrows rose. Ashley, someone that always turned the other cheek, nodded and smiled again.

"That's good. You're good with her."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

A silence stretched over the survivors. It was comfortable, something that they enjoyed. Coleman and Axel were on watch outside and Carol was at the fence with a machine gun, waiting for the group to arrive. Just as Ashley was about to say something else to start a conversation, a faint scream echoed through the prison.

Carl's ears perked up and he moved down the stairs, only to be stopped by Hershel's crutch. His pistol was drawn, and Ashley had surprised herself by doing the same; it was almost an instinct now. The small boy glared at Hershel as he tried to shove his cane away. "I have to go help those people!" he cried, motioning towards the hallway that the screams were coming from.

"I can't let you do that," Hershel told him sternly, not moving his crutch.

"My dad's not here, I have to do it."

"I'll go with him," Ashley said, fitting the silencer that Carl had fashioned for her on her gun quickly. Her hands were shaking but she ignored them since she knew that she needed to go with this kid to make sure he didn't get hurt. If Rick came back and his son was dead somewhere in the prison it would destroy him, and Ashley knew that Rick was the most important person in their group and his sanity was everyone's lives. Hershel considered her and Carl, a fatherly expression drawn across his features, and, with a sigh of defeat, he lowered his crutch. Beth gave him a look of disbelief that neither Carl nor Ashley saw since they were already sprinting towards the hall with their guns and flashlights held at their sides.

**_XXX_**

"Rick wants us to go back to the car," Grant whispered to Glenn as he leaned heavily against the dirty car that served as their shelter. Glenn had his eyes just barely above the bottom of the window, observing the wall that the men of Woodbury had put up to keep out walkers. "Michonne's going back and so is Maggie-I saw 'em. Rick and Daryl are gonna stay close for a little longer."

"Okay. Wait until the spotlight passes us again, then we'll go." Glenn's voice was raspy and stressed. His hands were tight on the machine gun that he'd been given and his eyes kept darting around for threats, his usual calm demeanor completely gone, but he took a deep breath and nodded to Grant. "Let's go."

They sprinted through a small field that was in front of a train that acted as another wall to Woodbury and ducked underneath it, breathing deeply as they waited for gunfire to chase after them. When a few seconds passed and nothing happened, the two men crawled forward more, under and out of the train. A stray walker groaned and lurched towards them, and Glenn drew his knife and slammed it through the walker's skull. Through the dark the two jogged to the car that the group had brought, seeing Michonne already leaning against it. She watched them as they came up,

"See anything interesting?" Grant asked her, sitting down on the side of the road next to Glenn. She shook her head, her dreadlocks swinging wildly.

"Only that one girl there can't shoot. You all?"

"Nothing." Glenn answered tiredly. Maggie walked through the trees, her breathing a little hard, and Glenn jumped up to go to her. She let him hug her and kiss her forehead, but she didn't seem too keen on touching him back. Glenn looked a bit put-off by this, and he sat next to Grant again instead of standing next to Maggie at the car's side. "Why're Daryl and Rick staying back there?"

Maggie shrugged. "They said they saw something. Might take a while for them to get back. That's what they told me when I left."

"What the hell could they be doing?" Grant asked the adults. They all exchanged a look that made Grant's stomach drop. "You don't think…they're not going in there, are they?!"

"You never know with Rick." Glenn said hauntingly. "Let's just hope they don't."

**_XXX_**

Creeping down the dark hallway with Carl at her side and the terrified screams of whoever had found a way into the prison, Ashley couldn't help but think about the last time she'd been alone in the halls of this prison and a shiver ran through her body. But, Carl was with her and she was better equipped than she'd last been.

Holding her gun at shoulder height with her flashlight on top of it, Ashley walked beside Carl with baited breath. The shrieks and moans of people and walkers mixed together into a symphony of horror. The two children rounded a corner and a walker spun around to lunge at them, but Carl shot it in the head faster than Ashley thought possible. His chest heaved because of the surprise but he continued on, his pace quickening.

"In there." Ashley breathed, running towards a door that was closed but was filled with the cries of the strangers that had found their way in the prison. It was scary, Ashley had no idea what they were going to find. If these people were being attacked by walkers, how was she supposed to know that the walkers wouldn't go after her and Carl next? There was no way to know that they'd be safe while assuring the safety of these strangers. Seemingly fearless, Carl kicked open the door to be greeted with the sight of three people fighting off walkers with a shovel, a crowbar, and something else that they couldn't pick out in the chaos. A woman with a bite taken out of her arm was crying in the arms of a man, both of them sitting on the floor.

Carl fired off a muted shot instantly, saving one of the people from a walker that was bearing down on him. A large man whipped around, his face sweaty and his arm muscles bulging, staring at Ashley and Carl with wide eyes. Finding his voice before Ashley could, Carl yelled out "Come on!"

**_XXX_**

"Y'all can't do this ta me!" a figure enveloped in shadows shouted, standing on top of the wall that kept Woodbury sheltered from the outside world. He was large and seemed to be missing a hand. Daryl and Rick watched him closely, their guns ready in their hands just in case something went amiss. It looked like this man was going to be executed. "I'm tha only one that knows that group! Y'all need me!"

"We don't need you." Another voice said. This one made Daryl's muscles tense because he recognized it; it was the man that had tortured him and Maggie, and he guessed the same guy had tortured Glenn, who had failed to mention who beat him up so badly. This was the man that he wanted to kill more than anyone else. Rick sensed his unease and gave him a glare that told him to stay quiet and stay down. Patiently they waited for something to happen. "Your loyalties obviously don't lie here anymore. You are of no use to us."

Daryl felt like he recognized the voice of the man pleading for his life but he couldn't remember just who it was. A single gunshot fired, making both Daryl and Rick jump out of their skins, and the man fell over the wall. He looked dead. Someone asked if they should shoot him again, but the man in charge told them that he knew he'd shot him in the head and there was no need to wake up anyone in the town. All of the men except for the guards left the scene, and even the ones that were supposed to be watching the wall sat down so they could no longer see over it to play cards.

"Should we see who it is?" Daryl asked Rick. His curiosity was strong because he swore he knew who the person was. He wanted to know if one of his old friends was-well, had been-alive until this very moment.

"I dunno…"

"I'll go and get 'em real quick, ain't nobody gonna see me." Daryl told his leader. Rick sighed and looked down at the ground.

"Alright. Real quick. If you get seen it's your ass."

Daryl grinned and streaked towards the body of the man, using the shadows as camouflage. Once he got to the body, he observed the person's back. They were well built and tall, dressed in a dirty white tank top and jeans. One of their arms was crumpled under them and the other was lying out in the dirt. Their head was surrounded by a pool of scarlet blood. Somewhat carefully, Daryl flipped the person over and, after one quick look at their face, paled immensely.

"Holy shit."

**A/N: **

**I am so sorry for how long it takes me to post each chapter. I have a lot of stuff going on this time of the year (plays, soccer, homework, etc) and I have almost no time to write! But still, I want to thank everyone that reads my story and reviews/favorites-it means a lot! I'd love to get more feedback, so please review whether it's good or bad! Thank you!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Fourteen**

"Glenn!" Rick yelled from within the trees.

"Rick," Glenn breathed as he got up quickly. Michonne, Maggie, and Grant were right behind him, anxious to see that their group members were okay. "Rick! Oh thank God…"

"Yeah we got a problem here I need you to back up." Rick said in a stern voice as he approached the people that had been by the road, his hand held out in way to keep them away.

"What the hell is he doing here?!" Glenn shouted as he raised his gun furiously.

Michonne drew her sword, a look that no one had ever seen in her eyes before, pointing it straight towards the man that was behind Daryl. Grant saw a slight resemblance between the two of them but he had no idea who the man was. "He tried to kill me!"

"Drop the sword!" Rick commanded, pointing his pistol at her. By now everyone had their guns drawn and Grant, not knowing who the man was or why he was causing such a big deal, also drew a gun and pointed it at him, deciding that he would do whatever Glenn did.

"Just drop it," Daryl told Glenn, referring to his gun.

"He beat the shit out of me!" Glenn screamed, still keeping his gun up and pointing it at the new man's face. Daryl and Rick stared at him, the information seemed new to them.

"He's the one that did that to you?" Rick growled. His question was ignored, though, and the new man started to talk.

"Hey we both took our licks now." The stranger said in a raspy voice that immediately made Grant not like him. He was tall and muscular with a shaved head that held only a short amount of grey hair. His nose looked like it was broken and it had a bloody Band-Aid over it, and he had cloth tied around his head, which was soaked with blood. He looked like he'd been nicked by a bullet. He didn't seem like someone Grant wanted to get to know.

"Jackass." Daryl spat at the man.

"Hey _shut up_!" the stranger shouted childishly to Daryl. Michonne made to move towards him again with her sword, but Rick pointed his pistol right at her forehead yelling "Hey! Hey! Hey!" to try and get her to stop.

"Get that thing out of my face!" Daryl roared at Glenn, smacking his pistol so it was no longer pointing right between his eyes. The stranger started to chuckle.

"Hey, look like you're goin' native, brotha." He grinned, leaning against a tree. Grant looked at Glenn to figure out what to do and saw the he had his pistol at his side, still ready to shoot, and he did the same.

"No worse than you hangin' out with that physco back there!" Daryl yelled, waving a hand dismissively in front of the new man's face.

"Aw yeah man he's a charmer, I've gotta tell ya that. He's puttin' it in good with your girlfriend Andrea, baby." He licked his lips obscenely at Michonne, and Grant clenched his jaw to keep from saying anything-this wasn't his fight. But, if he had anything to say about it, this man was getting nowhere near Ashley.

"Andrea's in Woodbury?" Glenn asked in a high, disbelieving voice. Grant could do nothing but stare since he knew nothing of the people that the group was talking about.

"Right next to the Governor." Daryl muttered disappointedly. Right after he said that Michonne, once again, made a vicious move towards the stranger, whom was now leaning against a tree with apparent comfort. Rick stepped in front of her.

"I told ya to drop that!" he shouted, the veins of his neck popping out in anger. Studying Michonne carefully, Rick asked "You know Andrea?"

She stared at the stranger hatefully.

"Hey, do you know Andrea?" Rick asked again, more forceful this time. Grant would hate to be looked at with the distrust that Rick was showing Michonne right now and he wasn't sure how she was able to handle it with silence. If it were him, Grant would be spilling all his knowledge right there.

"Yeah she does. They spent all winter cuddled up in the forest, mm mm mm." The stranger smirked at her. "Yeah. She had two pet walkers. No arms, dropped the jaws, kept 'em in chains. Kinda ironic now that I think about it…"

"Shut up Merle!" Daryl shouted, turning towards him with his arm raised like he was going to hit him.

"Found 'em close by the woods an' Andrea was close to dyin'." The man, who was apparently named Merle, provided, staring at Michonne.

"Is that why she's with the Governor?" Maggie asked Michonne suspiciously.

"Snug as two little bugs." He directed his attention to Rick. "So whatcha gonna do now, sheriff? You're surrounded by a bunch of lairs, thugs, and cowards now."

"Shut up." Rick said in a deep voice.

"Man look at this," Merle scoffed. "_Pathetic_. All these guns and no bullets in 'em?"

Daryl stood right in front of him and shouted "Shut up!" like a brother would when he was angry. Merle shouted right back.

"Shut up yourself ya bunch of pussies-!" before he could finish his insult, Rick slammed the butt of his pistol down on a pressure point and Merle dropped like a stone, finally shutting up.

Everyone took the silence in for a moment. Daryl was breathing hard and looked a little embarrassed. Glenn pointed his pistol at the still body of Merle for a moment before marching away, murmuring "Asshole." to himself.

_**XXX**_

"We're good people," the large black man that seemed to be the leader of the group Carl and Ashley had saved pleaded, his hands tight around the bars of the common area that his group was to stay in. Carl stared at him and shrugged.

"It's not up to me." He told him. The boy turned his back and walked up to his cell, his pistol bouncing against his leg. Ashley looked at the ragged people with sympathy. Knowing that she would probably get scolded for what she was doing, she chased after Carl.

"Hey, at least let them get some medical help. One guy has a bad cut on his leg and he needs stitches. Hershel can do that and I'll watch to make sure they don't try anything." She said, almost begging. It was odd that someone three years younger than her had power over her own, but Ashley didn't question it; Carl was Rick's son, which made him the temporary leader when all of the older men were gone. She was still worried about Grant but figured helping these people would take her mind off of her worries for a little while.

"That's not safe, Ashley." Carl said as he shook his head. "I don't trust these people."

"And you have plenty reason not to. But we're going to have to interact with them since that's where all the baby stuff and food preparation stuff is, so we might as well get them to like us so they don't try and kill us when we go out there." Ashley held out her hand for the keys. "They can't be that dangerous-they just lost a member of their own. They're grieving. The least we can do is help them out a bit."

Carl sighed and looked down at his feet. He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Ashley could tell that he was stressed from the responsibility that was on his shoulders, and she smiled to show him that she supported him. Coming to a decision, Carl nodded. "Alright. But you _and _I guard them while Hershel's helping them. If they lay a hand on anyone-"

"We shoot them." Ashley surprised herself with her answer just like she'd surprised herself by drawing her pistol so quickly earlier. Still, she knew it was the right thing to do. "I've got this."

_**XXX**_

"It won' work." Rick said to Daryl. They stood just far enough away from Merle and Michonne so they couldn't hear them, and they were accompanied by Grant, Glenn, and Maggie. All five of them were discussing the Merle situation. Grant had been surprised to find out that Daryl and that rude redneck were brothers-they didn't act the same at all.

"It's gotta."

"It'll stir things up."

"The Governor is probably on his way to the prison now. Merle knows how he thinks and we could use some muscle." Daryl told him as he pointed towards his brother. Grant could tell that he was torn between these two groups: his brother and the people he'd been living with through most of the apocalypse.

"He can't come to the prison." Maggie said.

"Do you really want him to sleep in the same cell as Carol and Beth and Ashley?" Glenn asked.

"He ain't a rapist!" Daryl exclaimed.

"Well his buddy is!" Glenn argued, taking a step towards him. Maggie looked a little aghast at this statement and Grant wasn't sure why.

"Ain't buddies anymore, not after what happened on the wall." Daryl said.

"There's no way Merle is comin' back. He's gonna put everyone at each other's throats." Rick said.

"So you're gonna cut Merle loose and bring the last samurai home with us?!"

"She's not comin' either."

"She's not in a state to be on her own." Maggie said softly.

"She did bring you guys to us." Glenn told Rick.

"And then ditched us." He scorned. "She's too unpredictable."

"That's right," Daryl chimed in, staring at Michonne, who was leaning against their green Honda. "We don't know who she is. Now Merle…Merle's blood."

Glenn took a shaky breath. "No, Merle is _your_ blood. My blood, my family, is standing right here and waiting for us back at the prison."

"And you're part of that family." Rick informed Daryl solemnly. "He's not. He's just not."

"Man, y'all don't know." Daryl said, taking on a rougher tone of voice that told everyone he was going to get difficult to deal with. "Fine. We'll fend for ourselves."

"That's not what I'm saying," Glenn murmured.

"No him, no me."

"Daryl, you don't have to do that," Maggie said, sounding a little desperate.

"It was always Merle and I before this." Daryl ignored the soft _don't _and _that's crazy_ and looked at Rick, waiting for a final decision. "Y'all would do the same thing if it was your brother."

"Well what do you want us to tell Carol?" Glenn asked. He hoped that bringing her up would break Daryl's resolve to leave with his brother, but all it succeeded in doing was making him look a little more sad.

"She'll understand." He nodded to everyone and walked through the gap between Maggie and Glenn, towards Merle. He told Maggie to say goodbye to her father for him while he passed her and told Grant to say goodbye to Ashley for him. They all followed him quickly.

"Daryl…Daryl! Are you serious?!" Glenn yelled. Daryl and Rick strode ahead of the others and Grant stood back with Glenn and Maggie and watched Rick talk to Daryl, unable to catch the words they exchanged. He'd had no idea what to say through the whole ordeal, those kinds of things were Ashley's specialty. Though he wasn't the best of friends with Daryl, Grant knew that Ashley was very fond of him. They always went hunting together and she never shut up about how interesting he was and how he was quite sweet under his touch exterior. When she found out that he was leaving it would break her heart.

Daryl unloaded his backpack from the trunk of the car that the group was using and put a poncho over his head. He and Rick spoke for a few more seconds before he moved off to go into the woods with his brother. Everyone stood dumbstruck at seeing him go. Grant knew they needed him. He had no idea what was going to happen now that he was gone. Handing his gun to Rick to put in the back of the car, Grant opened the door and sat next to Maggie and Glenn, not sure what had happened or how to explain it to Ashley. He developed a headache just thinking about how awful Ashley was going to react to Daryl leaving. Staring outside the window, Grant closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his knuckles, trying to digest all the information that had just been thrown at him.


	16. Chapter 15

**Fifteen**

"Oh thank God you're alright!" Ashley breathed as she threw herself at Grant as soon as he stepped out of the car. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, burying his face in her neck and taking a deep breath of her smell to calm himself down. He was happy to be alive and back with his girlfriend. Ashley placed a sweet kiss on his temple as she ran her hands through his hair consolingly. "I was so worried. You all took so long."

"We were alright, Ash." He whispered. Everyone else was greeting the arrival of the rest of their group, but no one else seemed as happy or as surprised to see them. It was obvious that Ashley and Grant had never been separated before.

"I know…I know." She smiled and put her hand on Grant's cheek, savoring the feel of him. It was scary to have him go on these trips because Ashley was never sure what could happen. Luckily Carl had been right and Grant was perfectly fine; all he had was a few scratches on his face that Ashley figured had come from branches. Looking around, Ashley's forehead creased when she counted everyone in the yard. One of her favorite heads of scraggly brown hair was missing. "Where's Daryl?"

Grant swallowed hard and looked down at his feet. At Ashley's strangled gasp he glanced up again and shook his head. "No he's alive. They…they found his brother. He left with him."

"He what?" Ashley whispered with tears in her eyes. She wasn't so happy anymore, she just looked worried and hurt.

"He left with his brother."

"Brother? Since when did Daryl have a brother?!" Ashley started to sound a little hysterical. Grant grabbed her and pulled her into another tight hug, propping his chin on top of her head. "What happened while you all where gone?!"

"I'll explain inside," Grant said quietly, steering Ashley towards the entrance of the prison. Carl led them inside, drawing his pistol right before he opened the door to the place that the group usually ate.

"There's four new people in here." He informed Grant. "Just ignore them."

"Looks like you have some explaining to do too." Grant grinned at Ashley and held her close as the trooped through the common area that the new people were staying in. With a quick glance in their direction, Grant saw that there were three guys, two were white and the other was black, and one woman, who was also black. They stared at Grant and Ashley and Carl silently.

Once past the barred door that Carl locked behind them, Ashley held on to Grant's hand tightly and walked him to the stairs, where they could sit and talk and also observe the group as the rest of them filed in. Coleman and Axel had come down from the guard tower to greet the group after they came back from their mission and they were still out in the yard.

"Now tell me what happened with Daryl." Ashley said, her voice almost breaking. Grant hated to hear her like this, and a sudden hate for that redneck filled him up to where he didn't want to talk about him. Though he didn't want to, Grant knew that Ashley needed to know what had happened to that man, so he started to talk.

"We were at Woodbury. I was with Glenn and we were hiding behind a car together looking around. I got a sign from Rick to go back to the car at the road and wait, so we did. Me, Glenn, Maggie, Michonne, waited for hours. Then Rick and Daryl came back with this guy…he was a real douche. He made a racist joke about Michonne and was talking about some woman named Andrea, and that seemed to get to them all really bad.

"So we stared arguing. Daryl wanted to bring his brother here but no one else wanted him. They didn't know what to do with Michonne either. Daryl ended up leaving because Rick wouldn't let him bring his brother to the prison. We drove back and Rick told Michonne that she was going to have time to heal but she was going to leave as soon as she could. And now we're here…" Grant looked around at the dark prison, sighing.

"I'm just glad that you're okay." Ashley murmured, casting her eyes down after she placed her hand on Grant's thigh lightly. He stared at her and leaned over, kissing her cheek. They both smiled.

"Me too."

_**XXX**_

Ashley pulled Grant towards her once they were in the privacy of their cell. She connected their lips and let him wrap his arms around her waist. Smiling into their embrace, Ashley put her arms around Grant's neck and deepened their kiss even further. Grant guessed that Ashley was trying to forget the feeling of abandonment that she had because of Daryl leaving because when she was feeling strongly about something, she'd try to cover up those wounds with something she enjoyed so she'd forget about it. From the enthusiasm she was showing Grant right now, he figured that she was either very hurt or enjoyed him very much, and he didn't even care that she was kissing him because she was upset about Daryl, he just went along with it.

The air was so hot and muggy and they'd been sweating all day, but, when the two touched, a shock of cold went through them. It was painful in a way, but in one that was full of adrenaline and made them want to continue. Against Grant's lips Ashley's felt cool, like water that had just come out of a fridge. It was bliss compared to the outside.

Grant's hand was just barely under Ashley's shirt, firmly on her hip, his fingers slowly tracing upwards. Her breathing quickened but she didn't try and stop him. By now his hands were at the base of her ribcage and still creeping up, his feather light touches were almost heavenly to her under-loved body. Just as Ashley's bra started to become exposed, the two were interrupted by a small yelp.

Spinning around while pulling her shirt down, Ashley hissed "Carl! What're you doing?!"

"I-I…sorry," his face was bright red under the shadow of his sheriff's hat. Grant seemed struck dumb with embarrassment, his eyes on his shoes as he let Ashley scold the young boy.

"Get to your cell! You shouldn't be sneaking around this late!"

He scurried off and Ashley stared at the doorway where he'd been standing. Quietly, Grant started to chuckle. "You scared the shit out of him."

"Shut up," Ashley breathed, shaking her head while she ran a hand through her hair. She looked up at Grant and smirked. "I messed up your hair a bit…"

"Well we can worry about that in the morning," he told her. He started to bring her closer to him again, but Ashley shied away. "Oh _come on_! You can't do that to me!"

"I can and I am." She grinned and started to get ready for bed. Grant groaned but did the same, deciding not to put up a fight with Ashley because, by doing that, he'd most likely get punished even more. Taking off his shirt, Grant glanced over at Ashley and watched her ready herself for bed. He felt like a bit of a stalker for doing it, but he couldn't help himself, she was just so beautiful.

Her hair had grown at an alarming rate and was now at the middle of her back; it curled at the ends and had calmed down from the frizzy mess it used to be to a somewhat smooth mass. Her skin that had been so pale and porcelain-like before the outbreak was now tan, and her cheeks had a little bit of red on them from where she'd been on watch with the sun beating down on her with no protection against the UV rays. She was gaining weight again, which was good, and her figure was filling out to be the curvy one that Grant knew and loved, though he doubted it would ever be as full as it used to be.

Ashley turned around and smiled at Grant. He loved her smile, the way her lips stretched over her straight teeth perfectly made his heart leap because she was smiling for _him_. Just knowing that he had her attention and he caused her some sort of happiness made Grant's day.

Climbing into the bunk with her, Grant wrapped his arms around Ashley's frame and held her close to him. She put her head on his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat, her eyelashes brushing against his skin softly. The silver pendant that used to belong to Grant's father which he always wore was lying in-between his collarbones. He took a deep breath and stroked Ashley's hair, grinning when she placed a kiss on the base of his neck drowsily. Neither of them felt the need to talk to each other and they lapsed into a silence that was only interrupted by the sounds of crickets outside and the soft murmur of the group that was locked in the common area downstairs.

_**XXX**_

"What're we gonna do with that group?" Grant asked Ashley as he picked up a clean shirt from the pile Carol had given him a few nights earlier. It was one of Grant's favorites just because it reminded him of the past. Ashley shrugged and pulled on her boots, leaving them unlaced near the top of a loose, comfortable fit.

"I guess that's up to Rick."

"Do you think anything's gonna happen with the Governor guy?"

"I don't know…he sounds pretty awful. He doesn't seem like the type of person that would allow us to come in to his town and shoot up the place then leave without any retaliation. I don't know what he may do, but I think he's going to do something."

Grant leaned against the dirty wall of their cell and sighed. "The town was big, Ash. There were huge walls with lots of guys that had a ton of guns. They had spotlights and stuff to help them out…I don't know if we can take on a force like that."

"We can." She said, full of self-assurance. She was confident that the group would be able to fight their way out of anything. "I know we can. If we fight a defensive war there's no way we can lose."

"So you think just letting them come and try and shoot us up is the best option?"

"Yeah. It'll be like the Revolutionary War: we're the colonists-the underdogs-and the Governor and his people are Great Britain because they have more people and more guns. The Americans fought a defensive war and they _won _and they became the strongest nation in the world." Ashley put her elbows on her knees and stared at Grant. "The Americans had more heart in their fight; they weren't just doing it for land or power, they were doing it because they had to protect their families and their rights. That's what we're doing Grant. We're protecting ourselves and our family."

Shaking his head, Grant cocked a grin at Ashley. "You're a history buff even at the end of the world."

"Always have been always will be." She took his hand and let him help her up, throwing her hair in a quick bun on the top of her head. Grant delicately tucked a fly-away back into her hair, letting his fingers trail down her cheekbone and jawline. Ashley blushed and looked down at her feet.

"Hey you two," Carol said softly. After taking just one look at her Ashley felt bad for thinking she was the only one affected by Daryl's leaving; Carol looked like she hadn't slept all night and had spent the time crying instead. She had bruises on her knuckles, and Ashley guessed that she'd punched two or three walls out of anger. She knew that sympathy wasn't going to help this woman, so she acted like she couldn't tell. "Ricks going to talk to the group that we brought in; I figure you two would like to come."

"Yeah. Thank you Carol," Ashley said, taking a few steps towards her. The two women shared a look with each other that was full of understanding but exchanged no more words. Carol gave Ashley a small, close mouthed smile before she went downstairs to where the rest of the group was assembling. Grant put his hand on Ashley's shoulder before they too went to stand with everyone else, waiting for Rick's lead.

Standing in a large circle, the group turned to look at Rick as he walked up with Hershel, both of them coming from Michonne's cell. Axel was talking to Carol about Oscar, and Rick provided, "He went out fighting" which was all you wanted to hear when someone you loved died in this hellish world. Giving up and letting walkers feast on you was weak, but fighting to your death? Valiant. It was too bad that they hadn't been able to get Oscar's body; Ashley felt that everyone deserved a proper burial.

"What do we do now?" Beth asked, getting up from the staircase with Judith snug in her arms. "You think the Governor will retaliate?"

"Yes," Maggie said, her voice soft, like she was so tired she couldn't bear to bring the volume up. Ashley felt bad for her. She knew that the Governor had tortured her, and Ashley guessed that she was constantly bombarded with the terrifying memories that brought.

"Let 'im try." Glenn growled.

"Sounds like he's got a whole town rallied. We're out numbered and out gunned." Carol said. Grant and Ashley stayed quiet, not sure if they were accepted enough to be a part of this decision. Grant had only seen the outside of Woodbury, not the horrors on the inside like the others had, and Ashley had only heard about it. They figured this was an argument they didn't have a place in, even if they were a part of the group.

"We could use some reinforcements," Hershel said. Rick looked a little lost, like he wasn't sure what to do. Ashley wanted to reassure him that he was going to make the right choice, but she wasn't sure how. Rick glanced at everyone in turn, his head obviously spinning with ideas.

Turning on his heel, he went to the door that split up Tyreese's group from Rick's and got his keys out, sliding the door open so that everyone could come together. Ashley caught up to Glenn and stood between him and Grant as the group fanned out behind Rick.

Tyreese stood and introduced himself, holding his hand out for Rick to shake. He didn't. Hershel introduced everyone else by pointing his crutch at them. "Sasha," the skinny woman with a frizzy mane of black hair and large brown eyes. "Ben," the older man in a flannel shirt and vest that stayed to himself. "Allen," a younger boy with black hair and a large nose who was also very quiet.

Rick didn't seem to like them already. "How'd ya get here?"

"The wall on the administrative side of the prison is down," Tyreese answered dutifully.

"That side of the prison is completely overrun with walkers. How'd you get this far?"

"We didn't. We lost Donna."

"They were lost in the tombs." Carl explained from behind Rick. He turned angrily.

"And you brought them here?!"

Ashley took a step forward. "I did too." Rick glared at her.

"They had no choice," Hershel defended.

"Well I'm sorry about your friend." Rick said after a long pause where he shuffled uncomfortably, trying not to yell. Grant had pulled Ashley back to him so she wouldn't upset him any further. One hand was placed on her shoulder to keep her under control. "We know what that's like."

"You said you could use some extra hands," Tyreese said, looking towards Sasha, who Ashley knew was his sister. "We're no strangers to hard work. We'll go out and get our own food…stay out of your hair. You got a problem with another group we'll help with that too. Anything to contribute."

Ashley liked him and his group. She tried to step forward and say something, but Glenn grabbed her arm and yanked her back, giving her a stern look. "Not your fight." He told her. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something smart and took her spot back between the two men she knew would keep her out of trouble.

"No," Rick whispered, looking down at his feet. Sasha's face fell and she looked like she wanted to sit down and cry.

"It's just us now," she said.

Rick stared at her. "No." He said again.

"Let's talk about this," Hershel said.

"Tomas and Andrew…think about them."

"Axel and Oscar weren't like that." Carol said.

"And where's Oscar now?!" Rick questioned harshly. Axel looked hurt by this and Ashley was surprised that Rick would say something so insensitive. The group was quiet for a long moment, staring at their leader and waiting for his next move. Rick looked back at Tyreese. "I can't be responsible."

"If you turn us out you are responsible."

"Rick," Hershel called to him, telling him to come over and talk separately. They conversed quietly for a minute, and the group only caught a few words. Rick glanced over at Tyreese and seemed to be in deep thought. Ashley desperately hoped that he'd let the group stay.

Looking up at a window, Rick suddenly looked very nervous. He swayed on his feet, running a hand over his brow while giving the railing quick looks, which made his eyes grow even wider. He swallowed hard, looking down, and muttered "No."

"What's going on?" Ashley hissed to Glenn as she watched Rick shake in repeat no in a small, scared voice. He shook his head and stared, keeping silent. Grant looked over at Ashley and asked her silently if she thought Rick was going insane. Ashley shrugged and stared at Rick intently, her eyes focused on him and nothing else. She was worried.

"Why're you here?" he growled, marching over to stare up at the balcony where he was apparently seeing something. "What're you doing here?"

"Dad?" Carl seemed scared for his father. Grant stared at Rick and pulled Ashley closer to him, not sure if Rick was losing his mind or if he was doing something to scare off the new group. Whatever it was, he was hurting more than helping; everyone seemed terrified.

"Why're you…no…" Rick started to back up, his fingers tightening around his gun. "I can't help it!" he seemed close to tears. Turning, he wiped his face with his arm and started towards Tyreese's group. "Get out! Get-get out!"

"Whoa man," Tyreese said, a calming, fatherly tone coloring his voice. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, it's all good."

"What're you doing?" Maggie asked, moving in front of Rick. "It's okay-"

"_You don't belong here!" _Rick screamed. "Get out! _Please!_" he drew his gun and Ashley was shoved behind both Grant and Glenn at the same time, shielded by their bodies. Their protective instincts were sweet, but not at this time. Ashley needed to see what was going on-she needed to help Rick! Pointing his gun at the balcony, Rick continued to scream. "Get out!"

"We're going, we're going!" Tyreese said. "Ain't nobody gotta get shot here,"

"_WHY?!" _

"_Go, go, go!" _Glenn moved from in front of Ashley and ran over to Tyreese's group, pushing them towards the stairs. Everyone stared at Rick, hearts beating wildly. Maggie had her hand on Carl's chest, holding him close to her much like a mother would. Beth had her hand over Judith's small ears. Hershel seemed dumbstruck. Grant had Ashley behind him with his arm extended so that she couldn't get around him. Silence stretched and Rick continued to stare at the railing with such intensity that Ashley figured he was seeing a ghost. Someone had come back in his mind, someone that haunted him greatly. Someone was threatening the entire group, and they weren't even real.


End file.
